Kialandí's legacy
by leonardonl
Summary: TWENTY YEARS AFTER THE WAR Díanel Baldorson delivers a dragon armor for Fírnen and a dragon hatches for him. He travels with Arya to the (new) riders, to discuss the fate of dragons, who all felt a warning. Murtagh calls Eragon for help, just before he faints. Thorn tells of an ancient threat in the North. One of Saphira's ancestors is involved. What has Kialandí left behind?
1. A new set of armor

**Hi everyone, welcome to my story. I am new at this, but I love to share my ideas of the Post Rider War Alagaësia with you.**

 _TWENTY-TWO YEARS AFTER THE WAR_

 _Díanel Baldorson is tasked with delivering Fírnen's new armor from his father's forge to Ellesméra. A dragoness hatches there for him and he travels to the Dragon Island in the east to live and train with the few other dragon riders._

 _After Díanel arrived on the island, Murtagh contacts Eragon and calls for help, just before he faints due to an unknown threat. Riders are send to Ellesméra to investigate from there. Thorn arrives there without Murtagh and tells of a unknown threat in the North. One of Saphira's ancestors contacted Murtagh which led him to the threat, but is Saphira's ancestor really bad?_

 _What evil has Kialandí left behind in the North?_

 _Will the new Riders be strong enough to face this threat? And will Eragon find a way to return to Alagaësia? Will our Riders, old and young, find the love they sought for so long?_

 _Read it in Kialandi's Legacy!_

* * *

Díanel replaced the restored wheel as the guards lifted the carriage. The last rays of sunlight were piercing the many high trees that formed Dú Weldenvarden. "Alright lads, let's set up camp and we'll continue tomorrow. We'll move at first light so we can finally reach that blasted elven city." He told his group of companions.

"I wish you would not speak in such a manner of our beloved capital, sir Díanel." Díanel turned his head towards the elven guide, who accompanied them since Ceunon. "I'm sorry Aryntil, you know I have great respect for the elves and the beauty they create. It is just that this journey made me grumpy beyond measure due to all the misfortune that we had. In fact, I do look forward to see the elves dance and hear them sing as beautiful as the sound of a fair maiden's laughter, which pleasant sounds have been too long from my ears."

This made some of his men snicker. It was true that they had known a great deal of misfortune on their journey. As soon as the snow on the roads made way for the first flowers to bloom, they departed from Carvahall to Ceunon, the most northern human trade city. Since the fall of Galbatorix many elves resided in Ceunon too. When had just they left the mountains of the Spine they got assaulted by a terrible spring storm. The roads turned muddy and some became blocked by fallen trees. It delayed them for a week. And so they arrived later in Ceunon than they had planned.

A day was spend there to replenish their supplies and find a guide to navigate them through Ellesméra. A week later a day outside Osilon, one of their horses injured his leg by stepping into a rabbit's hole. Unfortunately enough, their guide was one of the few elves in existence who could not heal a horse's leg. So they let their guide return to Osilon on foot to buy a new horse. And now one of the carriages had a broken wheel.

If everything had went well, they would already be halfway back to Carvahall and arrive in time for the summer fair, which attracted visitors from all races and all cities. Including the prettiest girls Alagaësia had to offer, but now it wasn't so sure if they would make it, which greatly demotivated the locals from Carvahall.

Carvahall flourished under the rule of Roran Stronghammer. Soon after the Rider's war came a group consisting of thirty elven scholars who were interested in human culture and leadership and found residence in Carvahall, the birthplace of many new-age heroes. There were urgals who wanted to pay tribute to the mighty Roran Stronghammer, the only human to best an urgal in hand to hand combat. Dwarves that had build a mine in the Spine were also bringing welfare to Carvahall. The Spine was apparently richly favoured with gemstones and silver ores.

Because of the variety of the inhabitants and trades, more and more people came to visit and some choose to stay. Carvahall was no longer a town which was overlooked by Galbatorix, it now was a vast growing city and a cultural centre for all races.

A couple of months ago, Díanel's father, Baldor Horstson was summoned into the halls of lord Roran. This happened frequently as Baldor and Albreich were the house smiths of the Palancar lordship and childhood friends of Roran. But this time Díanel's father came back with exciting news. The elven queen herself was in the Palancar castle. Well not physical, but on the mirror or something. Baldor couldn't really describe it out of excitement. But not much later queen Arya and her impressive green dragon Fírnen arrived in their small city, together with a group of elves who came to see the fabled Carvahall.

Baldor and Albreich, who took over their fathers work after he passed away, were asked to create a new dragon armor, since Fírnen didn't really grow in a fast pace anymore, now that he was already twenty-two winters old. The elven smith, Rhunön, moved to the east to live with Eragon and the dragons, and for some reason queen Arya didn't want to go there for an armor. But that didn't matter at all to them.

After Fírnen was measured and the design was determined, queen Arya and Fírnen left again. For months Baldor and Albreich worked on the dragon armor, together with Díanel and their two apprentices, an elf and a dwarf. Now that it was all finished, Díanel was in charge of delivering the armor to the queen in Ellesméra.

After camp was set up, they ate the last of their dried and salted meat, together with some nuts and vegetables that Aryntil had 'received' from the various flora by somehow singing to it. Díanel was not really interested in magic. He believed that to achieve things in life you had to work hard for it. As he was thought by the elder people of Carvahall. The old war-heroes never got in over their heads. They just returned to their daily lives after they had returned from the war.

Díanel's group listened to Aryntil playing his flute before he told them the story of the Menoa tree, the oldest tree in all of Dú Weldenvarden. After this they went to sleep.

Díanel slept under the open sky, as he always did as long as the weather permitted it. He was laying on his back, watching the stars through the tree tops. He never had his fill from gazing at the little twilights. He was fascinated by all the pale silver lights, decorating the dark blue sky. It was a moonless night so the stars shone extra bright.

A big winged shadow flew across his sight. Could it have been Fírnen? It was the only dragon he had ever seen and he was impressed by the beauty and size of this majestic creature. It had not deemed him worthy enough to talk to him, but still the experienced painted his dreams almost every night. He looked forward to see him again, and having the honor to present his new-forged armor to him. Thinking of how it would be tomorrow, he fell asleep with dragons on his mind.

Before noon Díanel and his group arrived on the outskirts of Ellesméra, and Gilderien the Wise appeared out of thin air before them. Aryntil had told them about the protector of the city and so they had anticipated him. When he appeared Aryntil said some things in the ancient language and so the group was allowed to pass without further ado.

After walking for about ten more minutes the group reached a big open clearing. There were some elves gathered here who all seemed to wait for something. Díanel could hear some noise coming from afar, but he couldn't really figure out what is was. He focused on the elves in front on him and asked Aryntil what was going on. "Wait for it." was his only response.

The noise grew louder and Díanel slowly moved his hand to his hip, were his blade was hanging. When the noise became even louder he realized that is was the flapping sound of big and strong wings. As he had heard a few times before in Carvahall.

Díanel let himself fall to one knee and looked down at the grass. He noticed his men doing the same. He felt the wind pull on his hair, which was tied in a warriors braid. He couldn't resist the urge to look up and he felt a big awe when he gazed upon the mighty green dragon.

When the heavy dragon landed the earth trembled. Fírnen was as big as a merchants house and more even more beautiful than he remembered from the few times he had seen him. He folded his wings and moved his head, with two tusks sticking over his slightly opened mouth, close to Díanel. Díanel quickly averted his head and looked down again, his heart beating with an almost inhuman speed in his chest.

 _Don't be shy hatchling. You may appreciate my beauty if you like._ Díanel was confused and it took him a second to realize that it was Fírnen speaking in his mind. His voice was heavy but rhythmical. Díanel looked up in a large eye with the shade of a pine tree. _I heard you came to bring me something to protect me. Will I still be admired for my beauty when I wear it, little human?_ "Yes, you would be pretty even when wearing rags, oh mighty sky-conqueror." "Fírnen, stop pestering or respected guest. Rise, Díanel Baldorson, rise and find yourself welcome in the capital of the elves." Díanel looked up at the queen, noticing her pale skin and raven black hair. She was beautiful, even among the elves. Or at least, he thought so. He watched her as she gracefully jumped of Fírnen's back. She was wearing a leather outfit, which consisted of brown and green shades. On her back was a large cape, made of the feathers of swans, as it seemed. A silver circlet encrusted with emeralds rested upon her brow.

Díanel rose and exchanged the formal elven greetings which he learned back in Carvahall to prepare him for this journey. He could see a glint of surprise in the queens eyes. "I see you have taken the effort to get yourself customary with our ways, know that it is deeply appreciated. Let's walk to my halls together."

Díanel walked with the queen and her dragon for almost half an hour. The rest of the company and the gathered elves followed them closely. As they walked through the outskirts elven city, Díanel noticed that the houses were built in the trees. No, the trees formed the houses. The queen explained that the elves sang to the trees to form them, just like Aryntil sang to them for fruits and nuts. The queen continued explaining that many of the houses in the outskirts of the city were empty, since the elves suffered many deaths during the Fall and became largely infertile after, because their race was connected to the fate of the dragons. During the Rider's war, many more elves, including her mother, found death claiming them.  
Now that the dragon race was restoring, the elves became more fertile again. They had six children in the last ten years. This compared to two children born in the fifty years before the Rider's war.

But there were many elves who left the forest to study other cultures or simply to explore Alagaësia. So the population in Ellesméra and the other cities remained small.

Díanel was deeply impressed by the city. There was a magical atmosphere that made his blood sing. He noticed deer, rabbits and even an boar happily running around in the city. It was a beautiful sight, enhanced by the variety of colored flowers and bushes.  
There were elves randomly sitting in trees or next to streams of water, doing seemly useless stuff. They were painting, singing, writing and reading. But he didn't see any laborers, farmers or other craftsmen.

Shyly he asked the queen if they shouldn't be working. The queen explained that due to their magic abilities the elves didn't have to work to survive or make a living. Elves were just doing what they liked and tried to improve in their non-magic abilities as best as they could.

When they finally arrived in the center of the city, Díanel noticed a small well. It was about thirty feet from side to side. In the middle was a small island with a fountain in the very middle. This fountain created a wall of water drops on the edges of the small island. Surrounding the fountain were three stones in the shape of ovals placed on pedestals made of rocks and covered with grass and flowers. The stones were each a different color: there was a large white one, one was the warm orange color of molten steel and the last one was silver, like the starlight on a clear night sky. Díanel knew what this were, he had seen similar of them before in Carvahall, it were dragon eggs. There were five elves singing to the eggs.

He halted and gazed upon them. A small smile formed upon the queen's lips, the first one he saw from her. "If you want to, you can try and touch them tomorrow". This announcement excited Díanel. "Thank you, your grace. But don't you have choosing ceremonies, like the humans and urgals?" "No, we give everyone the opportunity to spend as much time with the eggs as the like. I disagree with Eragon in his way of distributing the eggs. I believe that they should be freely available to all those willing to touch them. Not bounded by race. We should trust the judgement of the dragons. As elves we want to restore the dragon order, which is a bigger priority than gaining power or influence to our own kind. We should no longer be divided into races. Members of all races are welcome to touch the eggs, though that information is not widely known. We are just starting to adapt to the other races and my people are still very much on their own. It takes time to disregard the old ways of my people and not all agree with me on matters regarding the other races.  
I created a pilgrimage to the center of Ellesméra, where as you can see the three eggs given to the elves are placed. I hope to attract more isolated elves and tell them stories of the world beyond Du Weldenvarden, so that they might discover it for themselves.  
The water is magically enhanced with help of Fírnen, so that only those that have pure intentions can cross it. And as an extra security measurement, the eggs can only be removed by me, or one of the ambassadors of the dragon island."

"This carries so much more meaning than the way the humans organize it. This takes an effort from the ones willing to become a rider. In the human way we have ten seconds to touch an egg and at the end of the day the eggs move on to the next town. But I guess the human population is too big to organize it like you do. I am honored to be given the chance to touch the eggs tomorrow."

They chatted more about the old ways of the elves and how Arya had seen so many beautiful things outside of the elven forest. Things that changed her view on herself, the elves and the world. She was uncomfortable in the stiff and arrogant ways of the elves and appreciated the open showing of emotions of the other races. During her time outside with the humans and dwarves she always felt like an outsider, but once she took up her mother's mantle, she felt more foreign than ever. She even admitted to Díanel that she wished she could have let go of the elven ways twenty years sooner. A sad tear welled up in her eye, before she changed the subject and asked about Díanel's unusual haircut and his olive colored skin.

Díanel was surprised of how open she suddenly talked about herself and her kin. And of the display of her emotions, before she cleared her outward self of them. He felt sorry for her, to be torn apart between the way she was raised and the way she would want to be, if only the elves let her. He realized that she was waiting for him to talk about his past, so he started telling her.

He told her about his origins. How his father, Baldor, met his mother, Serinel, during the war, shortly after the villagers of Carvahall arrived on the burning plains on a ship called the Dragon Wing. His mother is the third child of a lowly Surdan lord, and her family disapproved of their affections. After the story spread of how Baldor had shot a Lethrblaka during their escape on the Dragon Wing from Teirm, Baldor was accepted to have contact with Serinel. When Baldor and Serinel's father fought alongside in the battle of Uru'bean his father was allowed to marry her.

Not long after the war Díanel was born. His skin was olive colored, which was usual in the warm lands of Surda and so he inherited it from his mother. His eyes were grey, but when he smiled they had a sparkle which was closer to silver. Those eyes clearly were inherited from his father. Since his coming of age he took the warrior's haircut from the lands where he was born; shaven on the side and a braid on the middle of the back of his head.  
After the marriage Baldor became a smith in the household of his new father in law and that is where Díanel grew up. His grandfather died to a sickness in his lungs, and Serinel's oldest brother became the new lord. Baldor and his family often visited Carvahall and his old friends and family. Horst died when Díanel was twelve years old and the three of them moved to the Palancar Valley. Baldor became the new smith in Roran's hold, together with his older brother Albreich. They became some of the best human smiths and even dwarves and elves came to buy their wares. That is how the queen ended up ordering an armor from their smithy.

Díanel and the queen were nearing the Throne room and ended their chat too soon. He felt like there was so much more to Arya than the stories told. The stories always pictured her as a typical elf, captured in duty and formalities. But he got the feeling that she wanted to break free of those bindings. But Díanel was in no position at all to help her, or even mention it.

As they entered the Throne room, queen Arya walked towards the throne, which seemed to consist of the roots of a great old tree. Next to the throne was a cat taking a nap and didn't even seem to wake up from all the commotion. Fírnen took place in the middle of the hall and all the elves and members of Díanel's group who followed them surrounded him.

Arya turned to the gathered crowd and hefted her arms as she called out: "Let us no longer dance around the subject we all look forward to. Díanel, son of the famous Baldor and nephew to the even famous Albreich, step forward." Díanel obeyed and walked past Fírnen, until he was at the bottom of the steps leading to the throne.

"Have you brought with you what I asked of you?" She asked, while she looked straight into his eyes. He felt chills running over his back as he looked away from her almond-shaped green eyes.

"Yes, Arya-Dröttning." He muttered.

"Then please, Díanel-Horstson, release us from our waiting and show us if the tales about the fires of your family's forge are true." She ordered him.

Díanel walked to the first of the six wagons and with a big swing he pulled the covers away. Underneath was a helmet, the size of a three winters old pine tree. It was a deep green, just as Fírnen's scales. In the top-middle was a golden circle, embedded with a big pointed emerald. The edges were also golden, engraved with elven runes. At the sides were small golden wings to enhance the airflow when flying. The nose was shaped to leave the nostrils free. It had no covering for the jaw, so that it would not hinder biting or fire-breathing. The crowd took a deep breath in admiration.

 _I would be honored if you put this on me, Díanel-Finiarel._ Díanel walked towards the huge dragon, as he bowed his head. The crowd again gasped as they did not expect such a gesture from a pride dragon. Díanel's hands thrilled with both excitement and fear as the tension build up in his body. What if the measurements were wrong?  
 _Do not worry little one, even if it does not fit perfectly, the elves can sing it in the right fit in a minute._ Díanel didn't really think of this this as a solution, but still the deep voice reassured him.

Díanel and one of his companions placed the helmet carefully over Fírnen's snout and head. They secured the big strap at the top of his neck. "Fírnen Skulblaka, may I ask you to open your mouth?" Díanel asked with a slightly trembling voice.

As Fírnen opened up his mouth, Díanel could see a green fire deep within. He tried not to pay attention to it, and secured the thin braid that held the snout shape of the armor in place. It went between Fírnen's teeth. It was magically enhanced by Arya herself when they discussed the design back in Carvahall. It was made so that it would never take damage from Fírnen's teeth or fire.

Díanel took a step back and waited for Fírnen's response. Fírnen started to shake his head with powerful swings. He crunched the air as if trying to snap a bird, or a larger opponent. During all this Díanel forgot to breathe. Fírnen stopped moving and looked straight at Díanel. The crowd seemed to hold their breath as well, queen Arya stood up from her throne.

Fírnen took a step forward and with speed that didn't match his size, he moved his head a few inches from Díanel's and let out a heavy roar. _Thank you Díanel-Finiarel, I like this, would you be so kind to show me the rest?._ And again he bowed, almost piercing Díanel with the pointy emerald. The crowd started cheering and Díanel turned to see queen Arya smile and nod approvingly.

The rest of the afternoon was spend putting on the rest of the armor, which was all in the same shade of green with golden accents. Díanel showed queen Arya how the different straps and mechanisms worked, while his companions were putting on the bigger parts of the armor.

When the armor was removed from Fírnen again, everyone present was led to the Great Hall, where a feast was prepared. Díanel was invited to sit at the left side of queen Arya on the raised end of the hall.

* * *

 **I hope you liked the first chapter of Kialandí's legacy. Let me know what you think of it. If you have any questions about myself or my story, feel free to ask.**

 **I'll try to upload two more chapters this week!**


	2. In the light of the stars

The next morning Díanel woke to the sound of someone knocking on his door. After the feast of last night an elf had shown him to his room, which was the biggest one he had ever slept in. It was all made out of wood, as it was song inside a tree. There was a big bed, an even bigger window and a separate bathroom and there even was a study. The walls were decorated with paintings and tapestries which showed beautiful elves and mighty dragons. Some depicted fights and others showed times of peace, or so he guessed. A particular small painting interested him. It showed a female elf with long copper colored hair playing a harp. In the background was a dragon flying over an frozen lake.

Again there were knocks on the door. He rushed out of bed to open the door. In the hallway stood an elven maiden, who seemed uncomfortable by the fact that Díanel didn't have a shirt on. He had a muscular build due to years of working in the smithy and he was quite a formidable swordfighter back home. There was a small bit of dark hair growing on his chest. Damn elves and their stiff formality, he thought by himself. "Excuse me" he murmured as he walked back in his room to put a shirt on. When he got back to the door the elf said: "I'm sorry for waking you, Díanel-Finiarel, but the queen asks you to join her in an hour. There is food ready for you in the dining hall. If you wish, I can fetch you some new clothes." "Thank you, that would be most welcome." He replied, as he quickly thought of all the travel-worn clothes that he had with him.

As soon as the servant lef,t Díanel started to undress and went to wash himself. In the bathroom was a big hole in the floor, which could be filled with hot water by pulling on a string. He did not know where the water came from, but he enjoyed his bath nonetheless. After a while he could hear the servant walking into his room and when he got out of his bath there was a neat stack of new clothes.

He picked dark blue leather trousers and a silver tunic to wear. He was even given an expensive looking belt, which was also dark blue and spun with silver thread. He wore this over his tunic.

After studying himself in the mirror Díanel walked to the dining room and had breakfast with some of his companions, that were those that were not still hangover from the dangerously delicious and strong elven drink, Faelnirv. They exchanged stories that they heard last night and were short of words to describe a night with the elves. The elves were masters of art, be it singing, dancing or storytelling. It was amazing to watch them perform. But at the same time they deeply lacked simple interest in fun. A laughter was barely heard, nor where the elves interested in the humans. Despite all the beauty they behold, there was something lacking in the core.

After Díanel had finished his yoghurt filled with fruits and nuts, he was summoned by the same elven servant. She asked him to follow her outside, where queen Arya and Fírnen were waiting for him. Díanel noticed that Fírnen was wearing a big leather saddle.

He opened the elven formalities with the queen, who replied: "Díanel-Finiarel, I do not care for elven formalities and stiffness. Please treat me like you would treat Roran or another human who you respect." "As you wish, Arya-Dröttning, good morning to you and to you, sky-conqueror. Thank you for the clothes, they fit perfectly." Díanel replied, a little at unease.

Last night he talked with the queen about a broad range of things, though she didn't want to bring up her past again. She again had hold her distance like all elves did. It was like she had two faces that could switch at any time. This caused Díanel to not know what to expect of her this morning.

"As does the armor of my winged friend. As long as you are our guest in Ellesméra, you do not have to thank me for anything. I will pay you and your family with the price we agreed upon, but forever will they have my thanks and are you welcome in the cities of my people as long as I am queen. For nothing is worth more to me than the protection of the partner of my heart and mind."

Díanel didn't know how to reply, so he just made a bow and murmured that she honored him with her words and that he would distribute her thanks to his father and uncle and their apprentices.

 _Have you ever desired to fly on the back of the mightiest of all hunters? "_ I dreamed often about it, though I would never give voice to this desire." Díanel replied surprised. It still felt strange to have a foreign mind in his.

"Then please, take my hand." Said the queen as she climbed on Fírnen's back. She held out her hand and Díanel took it to take place behind her.

He couldn't believe he was sitting on Fírnen, the third oldest dragon alive. Behind the beautiful queen of the elves. His friends at home would never believe this. He could smell a scent of pines coming from Arya.

His thoughts were forcefully disrupted when Fírnen took off with a mighty jump. Díanel let out a scream of joy as the dragon and his riders gained altitude. They flew over many, many trees, mountains, lakes and even settlements, which Arya pointed out in his mind. Speaking out loud was too hard because of the loud noise of the wind.

After an hour they landed on the clearing in the middle of Ellesméra. Next to where the dragon eggs were placed on their small island, where there were no elves singing at the moment.

He told Arya and Fírnen how much joy flying with them had brought upon him. He was short of words to explain his gratitude. It was one of, if not the, most amazing experience in his life.

"Now that is done, would you like to see if one of these dragons is willing to be your partner-of-mind-and-heart?" The queen asked him. "It would be the greatest of honors if one is, though I doubt it since I have touched dragon eggs before." Díanel replied with hesitation.  
"Do not despair, for I've travelled with the blue egg of Saphira for months, dragons wait for their right partner, which can only be one. Even though I was not the right one for Saphira, I was for Fírnen. Just as you might not have been the right one for some of the other dragons still in their eggs, you might be for one of these. We have just recently exchanged them with our former ones, which had already travelled through all the races without hatching. There is no way you have touched these eggs before, so you might as well just give it a shot now that you are here." She ended with a gentle smile.

Díanel realized that this could be the last time he would ever be able to touch a dragon egg. According to the human ways, only children from the age of ten till reaching full maturity, which happened at the age of twenty-three, were allowed to participate in hatching ceremonies. He would turn twenty-three later this year and it was not yet sure if the eggs given to the humans would reach Carvahall before that time. He had already forced himself to accept the fact that he would never be a Rider. But now the queen of the elves and her mighty dragon gave him a chance.

"How long may I spend with the eggs?" Díanel asked the queen, still with the human ways in his mind. "As long as you like, Díanel-Finiarel. If you wish you can sing to them or meditate between the pedestals. Some elves like to tell stories of great powerful dragons and riders to the eggs. Not to convince them to hatch, it is a sign of respect for the unborn dragons. So do as you please. I have to return to my duties as queen, but I would ask you to join me for dinner tonight." Arya said, before she and Fírnen took their leave.

Díanel noticed that he was all alone in the open space now. He felt tension building in his body as he walked towards the well. He took off his tunic, belt and shoes. He was now just wearing his leather pants and a thin white undershirt. He shivered in the cold morning air. The sun was already gaining altitude, but it was not strong enough to fight off the cold that the clear night had brought.

He shivered again as his left foot touched the water surface. The water was as clear as the glass they sometimes forged back at home and as cold as the never-melting snow on top of the mountains of the Spine. Díanel cleared his thoughts and convinced himself that he was pure of soul, he had no foul intentions to the eggs, he merely wanted to see if one of them found him worthy enough to be their rider. He swam across to the island without anything happening. As Díanel crossed the curtain of water drops, showered down by the fountain, he found himself magically dried. He felt uncomfortable by this sudden feat of magic, but was also thankful.

Díanel gazed upon the eggs: the large white one, the warm orange one and the furthest away of him was the silver one. He took a deep breath and walked towards the white one first. He placed his right hand on top of it and closed his eyes. The surface felt remarkably smooth and cold, like marble. He remembered this from the few other eggs he had once touched. He tried to focus his thoughts on the egg, but he never had been able to reach out with his mind. After half a minute he stopped trying and pulled his hand back. Another deep breath.

He turned and put his right hand on the orange egg. The color reminded him of molten steel, even more than it did when he saw it first yesterday. He noticed the red little veins covering the egg. Díanel noticed that this egg wasn't as cold as the white one, or that could just be his imagination. Again he tried to clear his thoughts and focus on the egg. Again nothing happened.

Díanel felt his confidence shrink. He was so sure that one of these eggs would hatch for him. The elven queen and her dragon themselves had invited him to touch the eggs. He grew sad knowing that without a dragon he would never have a chance with the girl on his mind again. Ismira. Even though he liked flirting with the girls coming to Carvahall, Ismira was the only one occupying his thoughts. They had been together for a while, before she touched a dragon egg and it had hatched for her. She came to say goodbye once and he had not seen her ever since. That was three years ago. Díanel had thought of asking queen Arya about her, since she most know about how the riders on the island were doing, but he did not dare. Ismira had probably forgotten about him.

He turned to the last egg. The one with the silvery color of starlight. Maybe this was what stars looked like from up close. Díanel could imagine millions of these eggs placed in the sky, being out of time and place of this world. But still favoring it with its light. Oh, how he always found comfort in the stars on his bad days. Days like this. Maybe this star in front of him would give him comfort as well.

With regained hope, Díanel stepped towards the last egg and placed both his hands on it, closing his eyes again. This egg felt even cooler as the white one, as if it truly just came down from the cold night sky. This time he didn't try to focus his thoughts on the egg. He just let go of all his thoughts. Just like he did when he was watching the night sky. He felt small and irrelevant to the turning of the world. In this calmed state of mind he remained. He lost all sense of time and place. He was just there.

The egg shifted! Díanel quickly opened his eyes and stepped back, releasing his hand from the egg. It was now as still as a stone again. But he was sure that it had moved. He gazed upon it for over a minute, but it remained dead still. Again he placed his hands on top of the egg and waited. He tried to reach his void-like state of mind again, but he failed. His thoughts were racing from Ismira, to Fírnen to the stars and the egg under his touch. He thought about his parents and the dragon island.

After ten minutes he wasn't so sure that the egg had moved anymore. It remained inanimate again, not showing the slightest sign of life. As he tried reaching out with his mind to the egg, a white raven flew over and shrieked:

" _Twinkle, Twinkle, little star  
Do you not see that you disappoint?  
You do not have to look far,  
To see what goes beyond._

 _Eyes are not needed  
To feel what true is,  
Hear as he pleaded  
And fulfill his wish." _

Díanel staggered back from the egg once more. He knew nothing about this white bird that could talk for some reason. Probably because of the manipulative elven magic again. He did not even care. The bird was right, he was disappointing and the egg would probably want him to leave so that the elves could sing their songs for him again.

Angry at himself for torturing himself with a fool's hope he walked away. What was he thinking, he was just a boy like thousand others, who was only in Ellesméra because his father was too busy to bring the armor himself. He was even stupid enough that the egg really moved. Oh the fool he was.

He swam back through the well, this time not magically dried when he left it. He grasped his cloths from the ground and walked towards the queens halls. He took a shower to warm up and walked to the dining halls afterwards. The flying with Fírnen made him hungry again. Díanel longed for some meat but none was available in the city.

After his meal Díanel found Aryntil and some of his companions. They decided to travel back to the Palancar Valley at first light tomorrow, hoping to be back in Carvahall for the summer fair. The rest of the day Díanel spend with the others and together they visited the Menoa Tree and heard its fabled tales. They saw the scars from when Saphira attacked the tree, trying to find a weapon during the wartime. Afterwards the group left to visit Rhünon's old smithy and even though it was impressive, Díanel wasn't fully there with his mind. He was still grumpy and wanted to go back to his normal life as quickly as possible. He went from literally flying high, to hitting the ground hard, when the last hope of becoming a dragon rider was shattered. He had accepted it before, but today everything seemed to set the stage for him. But he was mistaken.

In the evening Díanel found himself once more seated at the left side of queen Arya. He had informed her of their plans of leaving tomorrow morning and asked if the payment would be ready in time. The queen ensured him that this was of no problem, and that she was saddened to see them leave so soon. Díanel replied that he admired the ways of the elves and that they were thankful for their hospitality, but that his men longed to reach the summer fair in time. He was glad that queen Arya didn't ask about his time with the dragon eggs.

He asked about the white raven, which was sitting behind them on his stave. Apparently it once belonged to queen Arya's father, then her mother and now it was hers. She told him how it saved her father's life, who gave it the ability to speak afterwards. A side-effect was that it became capable of seeing the future and knowing hidden secrets, sometimes it gave worthy people hints and advises about their lives, be it future or past. These advises and hints where always in riddled form.

Díanel wondered why the raven, Blagden, had deemed him worthy, especially because he had called him disappointing. He doubted if he should tell Arya about the riddle the raven had given him. At the moment he wanted to ask the elven servant that helped him this morning stepped forward.

"Arya-Dröttning, Queen Nasuada of the humans asks for your immediate presence in the scrying room." The servant said as the hall fell silent. Queen Arya stood up and addressed all the attendees: "My dear guests, it seems I have pressing matters to attend. Please continue this feast in my absence and if my duties let me, I would join you tonight in the ball room for dance and song." The queen walked away through a door in the back.

A booming of questions aroused as the door closed behind the queen. After a while everybody seemed to forgot about the queens absence and was enjoying the feast again. Díanel used this moment to address Blagden, the raven: "Tell me, wise white one, why was I worthy if I disappoint?".

"I never did say that you disappoint, little stargazer. It seems you got it over your head." Blagden replied. After this he flew away, soaring low over the heads of the attendees.  
This reply raised even more questions within Díanel. But lord Däthedr ended the feast and beckoned all willing to the ball room.  
Díanel was not one of the willing, but his companions gave him no choice but to join in the festivities. During the time of singing and dancing, there was no time to think about Blagden's words anymore.  
Queen Arya returned, explaining that there was just some trouble with a rebel mage and they needed a spell which could magically enhance a prison cell. Díanel did not speak with the queen anymore that evening.

As soon as his companions lost sight of him he went to his spacy bedroom, though it didn't feel as comfortable as last night. He missed the open space and felt like there was no air to breath. After a while he decided that he could not sleep like this and went outside for a walk, mind still darkened and troubled with the day's events.

After Díanel wandered for a while, he found himself near the well with the small island with the dragon eggs again. He could feel the magic singing in his blood again, just as he walked by here for the first time.

The magic in his blood started to warm him up to an uncomfortable temperature. Seeing only one way to cool himself, he took off his shirt and shoes and ventured into the well. The water gave off steam when he dipped himself underneath it. He cooled down so hard that he wanted to leave the well. When he was on dry ground again he was still cold due to the water on his skin. He remembered that the little island in the middle dried his skin and so he went through the water one more time, to the little island. As he passed the rainy curtain he was dry again, just as this morning.

Díanel sat down on the floor and gazed upon the night sky, which was still absent of the moon, so the stars shone extra bright. It was a perfect night without a breeze. He could hear an elf singing somewhere in the forest-city. He did not know the meaning of the song, but it made him think of hope and it calmed his stormy mind.

After a while Díanel decided to go back to his bed and try to get the rest which was direly needed for the long return journey ahead of them. As he stood up he slipped on the wet rocky floor and grabbed the pedestal in front of him. By doing this he knocked the silver egg of his pedestal.

Cursing out loud because he had hurt his ankle, he crouched around the pedestal only to see that the egg had fallen on the rocks and bounced into the water. Cursing again he crawled into the water and retrieved the egg. Back on the island Díanel noticed that there was not a scratch on it. The egg was still as smooth as it was before. With effort he put it back on the pedestal and leaned with his back against it. His ankle hurt too much to get up and walk back to his room.

He sincerely hoped that the elves could heal his ankle, or their doomed journey would know another week of delay. He decided to wait on the small island for someone to help him. Once more he gazed upon the stars, losing himself in their countless numbers. Unknowingly he entered his void state of mind again. At some point he must have fallen asleep, but he was roughly awakened by something hitting his head, followed by squeaking noises.

He turned from the pedestal as quickly as he could, ignoring the sting of pain in his ankle, and crawled with his back against the fountain in the middle. As he gazed upon the pedestal he could not believe his eyes. He must still be dreaming. The upper part of the egg was broken and the owner of the egg looked right at him. The tiny dragon, as big as a cat, stepped out of the egg and licked the membrane of its skin. When it was done he again looked at Díanel. The little dragon stepped towards the edge of the pedestal and halted for a second, before jumping of it. It spread his wings to slow the fall, but it was not enough to break the fall.

By instinct, Díanel leapt forward and caught the dragon before it hit the rocks. He put him down and just as he pulled his hands away, the dragon pressed its snout again his right palm. A jolt of electricity raced through Díanel's veins, the pain in his ankle diminished due to the pain the dragon caused him. Díanel shouted out loud and pulled his hand back. As the pain faded he cautiously looked at the dragon. The dragon tilted its head and made a sort of giggling sound. Díanel noticed a silver oval in the palm of his hand, where the dragon had touched him.

Díanel crawled back against the fountain again and carefully studied the dragon. It was the size of the cat, and the pale silver color of the stars, just as its egg was. He was scaled on every part of his body, except for the wings, which consisted of a membrane. Over his spine, neck and tail ran little spikes. He had a small snout with big nostrils, odd enough. Its neck was long and held his head proudly up high. He gazed back at Díanel with an amused look in his silver and sparkling eyes, which were quite big compared to the size of his head.

The dragon moved towards Díanel with clumsy steps. Díanel was afraid to get hurt again but couldn't back away any further. The dragon just walked over his legs and nestled himself in his lap. Carefully Díanel placed his arm over the tiny dragon, who seemed to be very comfortable. Suddenly Díanel felt very hungry. How could that be? He had eaten over his fill during the feast. As the dragon looked upon him once more with its silver eyes it occurred to him that it was the dragon that was feeling hungry.

At that moment he could hear Fírnen and Arya arrive, followed by a group of ten armed elves.

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 **(A/N) And there is the dragon for Díanel. What do you guys think of the hatching ritual of the elves? I like it much better than the human way. And I'm glad that Díanel got a chance to experience it.**

 **We're now going to leave Ellesméra in one or two chapters and head off to the already famous Dragon Island.**


	3. The first steps

**(A/N) Hi guys (with guys I mean girls as well of course), a rather short chapter follows up. I don't have more time for now, but I wanted to share this with you as quickly as possible. Enjoy!**

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Díanel felt a strong need to protect his newly hatched dragon and held him close to his chest. Unable to stand up due to his sprained ankle, he remained on the wet floor and watched the queen come closer. "Díanel-Finiarel, again you have shown yourself worthy, not only to me and my people, but even to the starlight dragon. I'm honored to share this moment with you in this city. Now could you please come here with your dragon?" Arya asked him.

"I'm sorry, queen of the elves, but I can't. I fell and it feels like I have sprained my ankle." He said while he felt his cheeks blush. "Another useless human. I thought Eragon-Elda wanted to spread the riders fairly amongst the races. Now half of them are weak-hearted humans, except Eragon-Elda of course." Díanel heard one of the elves say this with a scornful tone, and it filled him with anger. Thinking about Ismira and her honesty. How could they think of her as weak-hearted? She was a better diplomat than everyone he knew and she used to assist her father, the lord of Palancar, in many formal matters.

Díanel felt the anger rising to his head and he was about to shout out to the arrogant elf. Before he could though, Arya turned, her almond-shaped eyes filled with anger and hissed: "Lord Wanir, it might be wise for you to reconsider your words. You shame your queen and your people. Next time I hear a foul word coming from your mouth about the riders, be it human or any other race, or humans in general, I will expel you from my halls. Despite all the years you've lived and the battles you have fought alongside the brave humans, you still fail to see what they are capable of. They might not be as physically powerful as we are, but there is no race that hold stronger hearts than the humans. Even though all the wisdom you have gained, you still have not learned to open your heart, how could you ever think that you are above humans? Who lives the better life? The happy man who would die to protect the ones he loves, he who got kicked down again and again, but always stood up one more time to fight for what he believes, or the man who gained all the knowledge there is and mastered skills, but never knew how to deal with emotions, so he just shut them out, like the coward he is. Never feeling more than the disdain to others. You should take example from your son Vanir, who saw he wronged Eragon and bested himself to become ambassador of the elves and now travels the human, urgal, and dwarven lands to learn about the passions life has to offer. It would be wise for you to travel with him for a while. So you might open your eyes for the first time in your life. Take this advice and do as you please, but heath my warning. Be gone now, all of you." She ended and looked at the other elves present with an icy gaze.

They had all hold their breath during this anger-fueled speech. Arya might have made some enemies that day but for too long she had silently resented the arrogant way of the elves and their disdain to the other races. The noble houses were the worst. Arya tried to show the flaw in the ways of her people, and especially the lower born elves listened to her and started to show interest in the other races. Many left Du Weldenvarden and travelled the world. But still some elves were invincible to reason and hold a stubborn aversion to the other races. _You did good, little pointy-ears. He is as ignorant and unchanging as the rocks in the river._ Fírnen's words comforted her. She looked up and saw Lord Dathedr nod in approval and she flexed her muscles.

When lord Dathedr had taken the elves inside queen Arya looked at Díanel again. "I'm sorry for Wanir's words. Some of my people are still isolated and ignorant. I'm trying my best to change it. But what has been so since the Menoa tree was still young, might not change in the time it takes for an elf to grow to maturity. As time passes all elves will see their flaws, I am sure of this. But sometimes it angers me to hear them speak so lowly about the people I care about." She looked at him with sorrow.

"Thank you for stepping up for us. It lifts heart to see that the queen of the elves defends us over some of her noble houses. You are a great queen, Arya-Dröttning. I am honored to have received your hospitality." Díanel replied from the little island.

 _I think he is in need of your help._ Fírnen politely hinted Arya. _Of course. I forgot in my anger. We should start their training at the break of dawn. Could you go fetch some meat for the hatchling?_ Arya replied to her dragon. Fírnen took off immediately and Arya took off her belt, which held her green rider sword, Fyrretræ. She also took off her shoes and her mail armor, which she had quickly put on as soon as they got alarmed that one of the eggs had hatched. The spells they had woven around the island did alarm them if either an egg hatched or if there was danger, so they came prepared for the worst.

She was just wearing her leather pants now and a thin white shirt. As she got on the shore of the island, Díanel noticed the shapely form of her breasts, as the white shirt failed to cover her chest now that it was wet. Again he felt his cheeks burn and he was stunned by her beauty. Embarrassed he looked away and thought of Ismira, who he would soon see again, at least, he hoped.

Arya was magically dried when she passed the wall of raindrops and the white shirt covered her chest again. Díanel felt an uncommon mixture of relief and disappointment. She knelt down and first addressed the dragon: "Skulblaka, eka celöbra ono un malabra ono un onr Shur'tugal né haina. Atra nosu waíse fricai." The dragon made a small noise and touched Arya's outstretched hand with its snout, before it buried his face in Díanel's chest again.

"Now let's take a look at your ankle." The queen said as she rolled Díanel's trouser up from his leg. After examining his ankle she said: "It seems only your muscles are stretched. It might feel a bit uncomfortable as I heal your ankle. Waíse heill!" She said, as she hold her right hand over his ankle. The silver spot in the palm of her hand, the same as he had, started glowing with a green light. He felt a weird sensation in his ankle as his muscles were pulled back to their original form.

After she was done he moved his ankle again. Though he wasn't fond of magic, he had to admit that it was useful. He painlessly moved it around and he could even stand on it again.

"Thank you, Arya-Dröttning. But what happens now that this dragon has hatched for me?" He asked her. Unsure about whether he was really happy with his fate. He always wanted to be a fabled dragon rider, even more after a dragon had hatched for Ismira, but now that it was inevitable, he realized the responsibilities and dangers that came with it. He needed to protect this little dragon. He needed to leave Carvahall and his family, his friends and the smithy. He would face danger and people would look to him to resolve fights or provide them with answers. But he would also get a chance to explore the world and the different cultures. Now that he thought of it, did he? None of the riders was ever seen in Alagaësia, save for Arya of course.

"You'll stay here for the first part of your training, which I will give you. When your dragon is big enough to fly I'll escort you for the first part of your journey towards the dragon island, Garjzla Hjarta, where you will train with the other riders. At the point where we split ways a rider from the island will come and escort you the rest of the way. But for now, Fírnen will be back in a few minutes with a dove to eat for your dragon. After he has had his fill we will return to our beds and rest until the sun comes up. I will send someone to wake you and after your breakfast your training begins in the adurna-deloin." Arya explained in a strict voice.

"Very well, Arya-Dröttning." He replied, it was a lot of information to comprehend at the moment. "One more thing, Díanel-Finiarel, I am not your queen. I am your teacher and I would like you to address me as such. From now on you call Fírnen and me Arya-Ebrithil and Fírnen-Ebrithil, since we are both going to be your teachers." Arya set, again in a strict voice. "Yes, Arya-Ebrithil. I look forward to starting with my training." Said Díanel.

As they came out wet of the other side of the well again, which the starlight dragon seemed to enjoy, Díanel couldn't help but look at Arya's body again. He had no interest in her, since Ismira hold his heart, but as a man –or boy- of his age, his eyes were pulled to her body without him having any say in it.

Fírnen arrived while they were putting their clothes on again after Arya had magically dried them both. The hatchling started to eat the dove with big gobbles. Díanel felt a rush of satisfaction through both him and the dragon. The four of them walked towards the queen's halls. The hatchling was first very interested in Fírnen as he was clumsily trying to keep up with the big dragon. After a while he gave up and fell behind. Not much later he just fell asleep on the grass and Díanel carried him for the remaining part. As soon as they arrived they separated ways with their new masters and headed straight to bed. Díanel fell asleep with the hatchling in his arms. He dreamed of flying between the stars with his dragon.

Dawn broke the darkness of the night and bested the starlight, the first sunrays crawled through the window towards his bed. The same elven maiden as yesterday came to wake Díanel, who came to her dressed and bathed this time. He was full of excitement and couldn't wait to start his training. His initial fear and doubts were overcome by the dreams he had last night and all he could think of were Ismira and his dragon. He needed to train at his best, so he could reach Ismira as soon as possible. Now that the flickering flame of hope of seeing her again had ignited into a bonfire, he could not wait to hold her again. He and his dragon were going to rule over the skies and explore everything there was to explore, with Ismira and her dragon, Likoni if he remembered correctly, at their side.

"Good morning Shur'tugal. It is good to see you awake and refreshed already. I'm sure you will have an interesting day ahead of you. Both of you." She added. "Queen Arya assigned me to be your personal assistant for your time being here. This means that whenever you need something or would like some stories about elves or the city, you should ask me. I am honored to serve you, Shur'tugal." The girl said with a humble bow.

"That is most kind of both you and the queen. Though I would not wish that you bow before me or be called my servant. I would rather think of you as a friend who wishes to help. I hope we could reach that level within a few days. Since you already know my name, which you might use to call me by the way, I want to ask you what yours is?" He replied. Just as he was getting used to being called Finiarel, he now needed to get used to Shur'tugal.

"Mina. Though my name carries little weight for our people." She told Díanel, again looking down. "I do not care of the circumstances of your birth. I am low-born myself and so is my father. Even though he married a noble woman and became a fabled smith. In my eyes all are equal, it you who determines your own fate. I would like to hear more of your past as we walk towards the dining halls." Díanel said.

Díanel and Mina walked towards the halls with the hatchling, still clumsy, following them. Mina told him about that she was from a small elven settlement in the east of Du Weldenvarden. That she was quite young among the elves, being fifty years old. She also told him that her parents both died during the war and that she was without family now. She was largely uneducated but wanted to know more of the world. That was why after the war she came to serve the new queen, which had traveled between the dwarves, humans and elves for many years.

When they entered the dining halls, Díanel saw his companions from Carvahall already having their breakfast. Those who noticed him had a surprised look in their eyes as soon as they saw the dragon following him.

Shit, he thought by himself. He had totally forgotten about them since the dragon had hatched and it seemed no one else had informed them. He walked towards their table and said: "Good morning lads, it seems I won't be coming home with you. Last night this dragon crawled out of its egg for me and I am to remain here for the first part of my training as a rider. Gerald takes command and I expect you all to follow him. It was a pleasure making this journey with you and I hope you drink a beer on me when you reach the summer fair."  
Gerald was a former commander of the guard, positioned in Carvahall after the war and never returned to Gil'ead, his hometown. After he retired from the guard he was hired by Baldor and Albreich to train Díanel and his nephews in sword fighting and escort the wares.

"I promise to safely escort the men and the payment to the forge of your father. But what shall I tell him, master Díanel? And what about your mother, she would be broken to never see you before you leave Alagaësia." Gerald replied after he stood up. Díanel had to admit that he didn't really thought about that yet. But he remembered Ismira coming home to say goodbye before she left to train with Arya. He was sure that he could convince Arya that he could visit Carvahall before they left to the Garjzla Hjarta, as Arya had called the dragon island of Eragon.

"I'll write a letter for my parents, that you would take with you Gerald. I know elves have ways of talking over mirrors, no matter how big the distance. I promise to see my parents again before I leave for the east." Díanel said and closed the conversation with that. He sat down and started to eat. The elven cooks said that Fírnen had hunted some meat for his dragon. Even though they did not want to touch it. One of Díanel's men was so kind to prepare it so that the dragon could eat it from a bowl, instead of having the whole cadaver in the dining hall. Which the elves did not allow.

When Díanel was done eating he wrote the letter that Gerald would deliver to his parents. In this letter he repeated his promise of seeing his parents again.

After this was done he asked Mina to escort him to adurna-deloin, the water gardens, where his training would begin. The gardens were filled with purple flowers, the queen's favorite, according to Mina. As the name indicated, there were big pools of water everywhere. Wooden bridges crossed from little pieces of land. There were many colored koi-fish swimming in the waters which shined like diamonds in the sun-rays. It was the most beautiful place he had ever seen, even in this city. They walked to the middle of the garden, where they could see the big green shape of Fírnen. Mina took her leave and let Díanel alone with his dragon.

They walked towards Arya, who was sitting on her knees with her buttocks resting on her calves and her hands folded in her lap. Fírnen was curled up next to her. Both didn't seem to notice the newcomers in the garden. Though Díanel knew that elves had senses way more sensitive than that of humans. He thought Arya was meditating, so he tried to take the same pose as she had. He quickly found out that he was not agile enough to rest his buttocks on his calves, and just ended up burning his hamstrings.

He went to sit on his butt and folded his legs over one another with his hands on top of them. His dragon curled up and just fell asleep. It seemed like all he did was eat and sleep so far.  
Díanel focused on his breathing and emptying his mind.

After what could have been ten minutes or an hour, Arya opened her eyes and said: "It seems you know the value of patience. This is a good start, Díanel-Finiarel. We now can begin with your training."

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 **Next chapter comes the first training. I said we might go to the dragon island soon, but I think it might take a bit longer. Hope you don't mind guys ;)**

 **I know the story isn't really fast pacing yet. But I want to introduce my characters in a gentle way because they will be the main part of the story. I hope you grow to like them as much as I do. Arya is not entirely the same as Paolini's Arya, But I like her more this way. I hope it still feels natural to you.**

 **It also takes a bit longer because I try to close all the plot's I open. This means that we'll get Blagden's riddle explained later on. Try to think about it for yourself though ;) The one who get's it get's a virtual cookie.**

 **On top of that, I'm trying to tease you with some facts about mainly Ismira, so when she makes her appearance you would feel like you know her already. I've already told you that Rhünon resides on the Dragon Island and now we discovered that Arya has a new Rider's sword!**

 **I promise more action in the future! As soon as we reach the Dragon Island the big bad get's introduced, and we'll see Eragon, Ismira, and the other Riders.**

 **Keep up with me!**


	4. An introduction to the order of riders

**Hi everyone,**

 **Another update for the weekend. That makes four updates this week. I have to say, I'm proud of myself! Thanks for the support and I hope you enjoy this chapter again!**

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"I'm sure that you have many questions Díanel-Finiarel. You are from Carvahall after all." Arya said with a faint smile and a sudden distant look in her eyes. She regained herself and continued: "I will answer as much of these questions as I can. Some of the answers are not mine to give, some I simply do not know myself. But now is not the time. Today we will start with the Rimgar. The dance of the snake and crane, as it would be called in the common tongue. Do you know what this is, apprentice?" The last word was added in a firm tone. Díanel realized that Arya would be very strict about their hierarchy, him being no more than a student.

"I have seen the elves in Carvahall perform it during the summer fair a couple of years ago. But I have never performed it myself and neither do I remember the poses." Díanel replied.

"The Rimgar consists of four stages. Only the most flexible elves can successfully complete the fourth stage, and only after years of training. It is a dance to warm up the muscles, we perform it before we go into battle, but many elves perform it daily to remain flexible. In order to become truly one with your body, we'll start with performing the first stage every morning after breakfast. Now, if you take off your shirt and try to mirror my movements we will start." Arya said as she stood up.

Díanel took off his shirt and went to stand next to her and took a step back, so that he could see her as she brought her hands from her sides to above her head. He mirrored this movement with ease, silently thinking that this was not that hard. He watched his dragon crawl up next to Fírnen, who watched them with his big pine-colored eyes.

Arya bend down and touched the ground with her palms. Díanel tried to do the same but could barely reach his ankles with his hands. He could feel his hamstrings burn as he tried to bent any further. Suddenly Arya jumped back, almost five feet, without any prior movements. Díanel was amazed with the strength of the elves. He jumped back a mere two feet, and walked the rest to take place behind Arya again.

This continued for half an hour. The movements Arya performed looked easy, though Díanel could only properly perform a few of them. He simply lacked the flexibility and strength in his muscles. He was grasping for air as they finished. Arya didn't even break a sweat.

Arya and Díanel walked towards their dragons and sat down. _I think I could do that better than you did, wooden stick._ Fírnen said inside Díanel's head. He sounded amused. Díanel's silver hatchling crawled against him, as if to support him. And Díanel petted his head.

"I'm sorry if I disappointed you, masters. I have never performed movements like this before." Díanel admitted embarrassed. "You were not as good as I hoped. Though it makes senses. Judging by the form of your muscles you have started developing them from a very young age, am I right?" Arya asked her student.

"Yes, Arya-Elda, from the age of ten I started helping in the smithy. As I grew older I started doing heavy work as well. Lifting things, hammering molten steel and everything else that needed to be done." Díanel replied. "As you know, human boy's grow a lot between the ages of thirteen and eighteen. But because you have forced your muscles to grow in thickness, to provide the strength needed for the work in the smithy, they did not grow in length, as the rest of your body did. This caused them to lose flexibility. It will take a while to stretch them in the right shape. Prepare yourself for aching muscles.  
We will now continue with the control of your mind. As you have noticed, Fírnen could enter your mind whenever he wanted to. So can I, and every other elf or magician. We think it as rude to do so, but those who wish you harm will not hesitate. Therefore you need to learn how to defend your mind at first and how to sense if someone tries to enter your mind, and eventually you would learn how to reach out to the mind of others. You may never enter the minds of others, unless there is a dire need too. The mind of all thinking creatures is the most private property we possess and therefore must be handled with caution. Do you understand?"

"Yes, Arya-Ebrithil. But if I may ask, if it is so rude, why does Fírnen-Elda enter my mind all the time?" He replied, anxious that he crossed a line for questioning the ways of their masters.

Fírnen made an amused growl. _I do so because I cannot form words with my mouth. I am not fully in your mind, although I could. I am merely projecting the part of my thoughts that I want to share with you at the outskirts of your mind. If I wanted to I could dig into your memories and get control over your mind. All dragons use this way to communicate, as you will experience in a few days with your own dragon. The bond Arya and I share is much deeper than this. We can feel the very thoughts and emotions of one another. We always have our mind opened to each other, although our minds are closed to others. You will need to master this as well, so that you and the partner-of-your-heart can become one as well, Díanel-Finiarel._

"That is one condition Díanel. Whenever you feel Fírnen's or my mind, you must open up to us. We will not attempt to enter your mind unless it is important, so never shut us out. We will now both enter your mind, so that you will get comfortable with our minds and recognize them if the need arises. Fírnen goes first." Arya said.

Díanel suddenly felt an overwhelming presence in his mind. He was completely powerless and could not move his body. He realized that this must be Fírnen in his mind. He could not see Fírnen's mind however, it was shielded by a wall of green scales, but Díanel could feel a wild presence behind it.

Díanel could feel Fírnen retreating. As he relaxed his body and took a few grasps of air, he again got overwhelmed by a presence in his mind. This time it was Arya. She comforted him by saying something in the ancient language. Díanel did not know the meaning of the words, but he felt that Arya meant him no harm. Her mind was closed as well, though it was not a wall that shielded her. It was a never ending pine-tree forest. As he ventured through it he felt like he was lost. There was a repetitive song booming through the forest. He got hypnotized and forget who he was.

 _I'm sorry. Awake now. You are Díanel Baldorson, born in Surda and raised in Carvahall. You are a dragon rider. Awake. Awake Díanel-Finiarel._ Díanel opened his eyes to find himself laying on the floor. Arya looking worriedly down upon him and Fírnen held his dragon who seemed uncontrollable.

"What happened?" Díanel murmured confused. "You were trying to enter my mind and I noticed it too late. You ventured too far into the defenses I've set up. No human could enter my mind. Not even many elves can. I'm sorry. This is my fault. But learn from it. You must always keep the connection to your own mind, never get lost inside someone else's. There are people out there who freely open their mind, just so that you get lost inside theirs. Always be careful." Arya explained him, guilt pouring over her voice.

"I don't know what to say. It was so overwhelming and frightening. The forest pulled me and it seemed like a way out of your dominance. Please Arya-Elda and Fírnen-Elda, never do that to me again." Díanel almost begged them. He was frightened till his bones, still feeling dislocated.

"We hope that you now see the need to be able to protect your mind. As long as you are incapable of protecting yourself, we won't enter your mind again, unless we absolutely need to. Let us go inside for now. We will discuss the current state of the dragon riders. You might also ask your questions." Arya helped Díanel get up and they went into her study.

Arya took a seat behind her desk, with Díanel sitting on the other side. Fírnen was sitting outside, but peaked through the window every now and then. The silver dragon was playing with Fírnen's tail, who didn't seem to mind.

"I know the dragon riders have been most mysterious. And I will do my best to explain as many things as I can. But I must tell you that I disagree with some of ways of Eragon and his order. Therefore I cannot explain everything. I do not want to cloud your judgement, I merely want you to consider both sides of the story, so you will learn to not follow blindly, not even me or Eragon." Arya said with a serious look in her eyes.

Díanel replied: "Of course I have often heard of the dragon riders in the east. Though you have been the only one who has been frequently seen in Alagaësia. Among my people no one understands why the riders are not coming here to help the people, as they promised to do so. We do not even know with how many they are. Not even Roran, nephew of Eragon and father of a rider, knows anything about them, nothing more than the few details Ismira told him before she left."

"To be honest, I have escorted Ismira the first part of her journey to Gjarzla Hjarta, and I have not had contact with any other rider ever since. I know Nasuada and Roran don't have any contact with the island either. In time I would explain you the reasons why we don't have contact anymore. But for now, I will tell you what I know about the eight known riders in existence. I am sure you know the tale of Eragon and Saphira. This must have been told in Carvahall many times. So you must have also heard about Brom, Oromis and Glaedr, Galbatorix and Shruikan, Murtagh and Thorn, Fírnen and I, Nasuada and maybe even about Morzan and the other Forsworn. Am I right?" Arya asked her pupil.

"Yes, Jeod Longshanks took residence in Brom's old hut, as he grew very fond of the villagers of Carvahall. It was filled with stories of the Fall. He completed this with stories of the Rider's war and often shared his stories with us. All the names you have mentioned do ring a bell, some more than others though. Jeod spoke highly of Brom and his accomplishments. So did he of Eragon and Saphira, and how you aided them as their _friend_." Díanel said that last word with a slight hesitation. Díanel noticed a slight flicker in her eyes, though he did not know what this flicker meant, Arya was still very good at hiding her emotions.

He continued: "Roran always made sure that Murtagh's story was explained. That he was forced by Galbotorix to join him and do the evil things he did. How his love for Nasuada changed him and he eventually helped Eragon and you defeat the Mad King and his black dragon, Arya-Dragonslayer."

This time a flicker of anger was clearly recognizable in Arya's eyes: "Do not ever call me that again. I forgive you this once because you do not know of what you speak. You think it as a honorific title as do the people who tell the tales. But as you will find out during your training, it is not. Shruikan was a dragon forced to listen to Galbatorix' will. He turned mad because of this and that is why he needed to be killed, though he did not deserve it. I did what needed to be done, though I deeply regret that there was no way to save him."

"I am sorry Arya-Elda. I only have heard of Shruikan as the dragon of Galbatorix, not knowing that he was forced against his will. Please forgive me for my ignorance." Díanel humble said, touched by her words and ashamed of his own.

"I forgive you this once, Díanel-Finiarel. Let us move back to the subject. I am glad that you know your history. Though I am sure that you only know the entertaining stories, not the true depths and motives behind many choices that were made and influenced the outcome of the war. You will be given scrolls to read and we will discuss those together. I'm impressed by Roran's sense of just and that he protected his nephew, Murtagh.  
As I said, there are eight dragon riders at the moment. There is Eragon and Saphira, who need no introduction. There is Murtagh and Thorn. Fírnen and I. That are probably the ones you know about. As you might also know, Murtagh and Thorn have not been seen for many years. They once visited Nasuada, but nobody has heard from them for over ten years. Murtagh and I are the only riders who are not currently residing on the island. You might also know Ismira and her dragon Likoni." Arya waited for a reply from Díanel.

"Yes, I've known Ismira for years and I've had the pleasure of meeting Likoni, though it was short and he was just a hatchling back then." Díanel replied.

"Good. It will be nice for you to have someone familiar on the island. Besides Eragon and Ismira, there is Herna, she is the first dwarven rider and she was the first post-war rider after me. Her dragon Harnon hatched one and a half year after Eragon had settled on the island. I have only met them when I escorted new riders and they came to take over. I have not trained them because the distance between the Beor's and Ellesméra was too big and at that time my people needed me to rebuild, so I could not go there for their training. Besides that, many of the dwarf clans were against having a rider at all, let alone be trained by the elven queen. They wanted to influence Herna to their own benefit. Though I don't think it worked. She is as stubborn as a rock, but I believe she makes a fine rider." Arya said and let fall a silent.

"So she went to Gjarzla Hjarta without being given a proper education? How did she manage to get there?" Díanel asked.

"Not entirely without an education, as soon as Harnon had hatched, king Orik contacted Eragon. He send some of the elves who accompanied him to get her from the Beors to Gjarzla Hjarta. In the meanwhile the dwarven priest clan educated Herna in protecting and controlling her mind. When the elves arrived Herna, Harnon and some other dwarves traveled to Gjarzla Hjarta.

The next dragon to hatch was quickly after, not even six months. It was Tian, she hatched for Kundog, an urgal. They lived north of the spine and I did train them before I escorted them on the first part towards the island, before the elves of Gjarzla Hjarta took over. It was interesting to have an urgal here in Du Weldenvarden, as he was the first. He was accompanied by some ambassadors from his kin and we learned a lot about the urgal way of life in that time. It was important to have them here, since it was so close after the war and not all wounds were healed yet, having them helped in understanding the differences and similarities between the races and get away some prejudices.

It took another six years before the next rider was revealed. This time it was an elf, Núrin from Ceris. His dragoness is a bright gold, being the daughter of Glaedr, and she carries the name of Hismal. She hatched here in Ellesméra, as we already kept the eggs on the pedestals. Again I trained them for a while, though they were at a high basic level, due to their elven origins. I escorted them as well before Herna and Harnon came to pick them up. That was around the last time Murtagh has been seen.

After Núrin and Hismal, it took a ten years before a new dragon hatched for a rider. Eragon informed us that wild dragons also remained inside their eggs during that time, and I don't know if they're hatching now. All the leaders were already starting to worry, both about Murtagh and about the fate of the dragons. We thought about that there might be a connection, though we do not fear for that anymore. We do not know what Murtagh is doing. But he is strong, maybe even stronger than Eragon and I are. So we are sure that he manages himself, wherever he might be.

And as you know, three years ago Likoni hatched for Ismira. We still do not know why it took so long for dragons to hatch again. Eragon tried to find out by talking to the dragons and listening to the thoughts of the unhatched dragons, but without any result. We might never find out.

You are the last and eight rider." Arya concluded with the unnecessary addition.

"I did not know all this. I knew Murtagh left Alagaësia with Thorn, but I never thought about him being out of contact with everyone. Neither did I know about how many riders there were. It is curious that at first the dragons were born in a cycle, human, elf, dwarf, urgal and then another elf. Which makes sense because there were already two human riders. Why did they stop following the ritual?" Díanel asked.

"Because dragons do not care about race. They look at your heart and determine if you are worthy of riding them, bonding with them. They look at how you view others and life itself, they'll see the best that you could become. If they find someone good enough, they'll hatch. Think of it as choosing a mate for life, as humans, dwarves and urgals do. You do not look at the color of their skin, do you? You look at what they value in life and so do the dragons. You'll become more than a rider, you will become a partner-of-their-mind-and-heart, as the dragons call their riders. Eragon and Nasuada like to think that all races should be equally represented in the order of riders, and for that reason the first set of eggs were send to the dwarves and urgals. But I disagree. I trust upon the judgement of the dragons. I think of it being a good thing that currently all the races have their 'own' set of eggs, which we switch frequently if they don't hatch." Arya answered his question.

"So this dragon," he pointed through the window to the hatchling, who was just falling off Fírnen's tail, "chose me because he could look into my heart?" He asked, suddenly feeling even more honored. He was amazed by the capabilities of this young, playful dragon.

 _Yes, Díanel-Finiarel. Be proud of it, but never stop being the best you can be, in your own eyes and in the eyes of the little twinkle-star._ Fírnen spoke to Díanel in his mind.

"Twinkle-star, of course. How could I have forgotten!?" Díanel shouted out. Arya gave him a surprised look. "Pardon me, Arya-Elda. But yesterday when I asked you about Blagden, it was not without intent. When you and Fírnen left after we had flown together, I went to touch the eggs, as you now. I touched the white and the orange one without result. Almost hopeless I touched the silver one, and I thought I could feel it move, just once. I waited for over half an hour, but it did not move again. Then Blagden suddenly came with a riddle about how I was disappointing. I left the eggs and when you were summoned away from the feast, I asked Blagden about why I was worthy for him to receive a riddle, but still I disappointed. As you told me that only worthy ones received riddles from him. He replied saying that he never told me that I was disappointing and that I got it in over my head. I still do not get his riddle." Díanel ended with a sigh.

"What was the exact riddle Blagden told you?" Arya asked intrigued.

" _Twinkle, Twinkle, little star  
Do you not see that you disappoint?  
You do not have to look far,  
To see what goes beyond._

 _Eyes are not needed  
To feel what true is,  
Hear as he pleaded  
And fulfill his wish." _Díanel recalled.

"And Blagden told you this as you were touching the silver egg that hatched for you?" Arya said while the corners of her mouth curled up in a knowing smile. Through the window came a deep ruffle, as Fírnen seemed to share Arya's amusement.

"Yes, Arya-Elda. Blagden came flying over at that moment and gave me this riddle." Díanel said, still not having a clue.

"Díanel-Finiarel, is it not obvious? Blagden didn't give his riddle to you. It was meant for your dragon, the one who twinkles like a star. He disappointed because he did not hatch for someone worthy, you! He did not need to look any further, because you were right there. What goes beyond is, I guess, pointing towards your appearance and race, since Eragon, the leader of the riders, wants the next rider to be an urgal or a dwarf again. But beyond race is your heart. A dragon doesn't need eyes to see that you are true of heart. And the last lines refer to you pleading the dragon to hatch, and thus fulfilling your wish. Oh smart Blagden who always mingles with other people's business. Though you should be thankful for he convinced your dragon to follow its feels, instead of the will of its leaders." Arya leaned back in her chair, still a smile on her face.

The silver hatchling came walking over Fírnen's face through the window, to nestle himself against Díanel's legs, as if it wanted to say that he wanted to choose him all along.

"I, I, how could I not have thought about that. It is so obvious now that you point it out. Thank you, Arya-Ebrithil." Díanel replied.

"I take it that you have never read a poem in your life? We will come to that soon enough. Riddles and puzzles are a great way to enhance your mental abilities. And the creativity with words, which you'll know the purpose of later in your studies. Let us now have lunch so that we might spend the whole afternoon with teaching you the first basics of the Ancient Language." Arya said, face emotionless again.

 _It is curious that the dragon was unwilling to hatch when even when it had found its rider. Even though Eragon did not want it too, it could not be the reason. This could be connected to why so few eggs hatched the last decade. I guess the dragons know more than we do._ Arya mentally communicated to Fírnen. Who replied: _Little pointy-ears, you know that I have felt something a decade ago, some kind of warning rushing through my core. And ever since I do not feel the desire to mate with a dragoness, not even Saphira Bjartskular if I had the chance. The unborn dragons must feel the same. Even the Eldunarí that are left with us feel it, though they don't know they answer either. There might be something threatening our race. We should fly to Gjarzla Hjarta and discuss this with Eragon and the Eldunarí, partner-of-my-mind-and-heart, you know we should._

 _I know my mighty dragon, I know. Though I don't want to._

Díanel noticed Arya let out a heavy sigh. She had been sitting with a frown on her face for a minute before she got up and they left to the dining halls together.

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 **Woowwww, something stops the dragons from hatching!? :O**

 **What is going on in Alagaësia?! There is a timeskip coming up soon, since I don't want to focus on the initial training for much longer. Hope you enjoyed this chapter, let me know!**

 **Have a good weekend! I'm celebrating my birthday this weekend, so no updates.**


	5. Weeks of training

**Hi Everyone, (and Efoof123 in particular, thanks for the happy b-day wishes!)**

 **this is my shortest chapter so far. And i hate to say it, but i'm not really satisfied with it, but I needed this chapter as a bridge between events.**

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The rest of the afternoon was spend with training. Arya learned Díanel some basic words in the ancient language and explained that the language was intertwined with magic. Díanel was not allowed to even try to use magic until he mastered the language and his teachers deemed him ready for it.

Every word that Díanel learned, he had to write down in the elves runes. It was a mentally exhausting task and he was relieved when Arya finally dismissed him. He took a walk with his dragon through the water gardens.

After they had dinner with some other guests, who were especially interested in the starlight dragon, he went to his bedroom to read some scrolls about Eragon the first and how he established the bonding between dragons and elves.

The rest of the week was spend in the same manner. Everyday training with Arya and Fírnen, although Fírnen only commended on the training Arya gave him. The morning was spend with the Rimgar, mind-training and meditating. Lunch was spend together and in the afternoon they debated over many issues and Arya tried to teach him the Ancient Language. Díanel was very eager to learn and he was a great student at the language. His debates with Arya were on a high intellectual level, but he managed to proper word himself and even won some arguments. After a few days his dragon could fly for small bits, and Fírnen often went out with him to hunt or explore the area.

Sometimes Arya was needed to perform her queenly duties and Nari would take over her lessons. He once accompanied Eragon from Ceris to Ellesméra, during Eragon's first visit to the elves. He was very smart and had a great interest in riddles and puzzles, something that Díanel was interested in as well. He excelled at thinking from a logical perspective and became better and faster at solving the riddles and puzzles given to him.

In the evening Díanel spend time reading the scrolls that he was supposed to read or strolling through the city with his dragon, sometimes Mina or Nari accompanied them as well. Still many elves came to admire the beauty of his starlight-dragon. Who seemed to like the attention. The bonding between Díanel and his dragon became stronger as well. They could now communicate by sharing images and even when his dragon was out with Fírnen, he could feel rushes of emotion coming from the dragon. Sometimes in the evening his dragon went hunting and came back with a bird for Díanel to eat, for he greatly missed meat. He had his fill of the meatless elven food and didn't see the point of not eating meat. The elves said that he would, in time, but he doubted it. He was not allowed to take meat into the city, for it would 'pollute' the air, according to the elves. So when his dragon got him a bird, he roasted it on a fire outside the city and ate it there while watching the stars for hours before returning.

Díanel still lacked the ability to perform the Rimgar properly, he was even starting to doubt if humans could do it all. But he knew that he would have to become better than this to become a rider and see Ismira again, so he kept trying every morning.

One night Díanel and his dragon came back from a walk with Mina. It was after the eight day of training. He did not have any more reading to do so he went to take a bath. As he often did he started to talk to his dragon. He was wondering about how Oromis escaped Kialandi's spell, during the attack of Kialandí and Formora. Arya had told him about Oromis' part in the training of Eragon today. And how he did not participate in the war after his disability. Díanel was not familiar with magic yet, since he was not capable of fully understanding the language, nor did he know how to use magic at all.

 _It sounds like Oromis was an intelligent elf._ Díanel turned to his dragon. "What, you can speak?!" _Yes Díanel, I have learned from listening to you and the pointy-ears. It is nice to communicate on a new level with you._ The dragon said while looking at Díanel without blinking. "This is amazing!" He shouted in return and hugged his dragon. "Oh my little starlight-dragon, it won't be long before we can fly towards the stars together! But tell me, are you a male or a female, since I've wondered for a while and Fírnen and Arya didn't want to tell me." _I am a female of course, little stargazer, did you think me a blunt male?_ "No, I just, I didn't know, the grace you have could be of both genders when it comes to dragons I guess. It doesn't matter now, I am glad that I know. What name do you want to carry? I have thought about some, all with a relation to the stars in the sky, which we both adore and which beautiful color you carry. Isilvar, Ostar, Aiedaili, Ster, Izar, Twinkle."

 _Izar._ The dragon sounded approving.

 _Izar._ Díanel repeated mentally, the first time he did so.

 _I am happy that you chose me Izar, I feel honored.  
So am I Díanel, we will make a good team together._

The next morning Arya and Fírnen were excited to hear about the developments of last night. Díanel was tasked with meditating on a stone in one of the many pools that decorated the water gardens and listen until there was nothing left to hear, as Izar and Fírnen were going to fly somewhere.

Díanel sat down on the rock and listened. Arya had told him that he was supposed to use his mind, and so he did. He was getting better at reaching out with his mind and he could feel organisms up to 50 feet away. Mostly fish and flies. He listened until he had reached his void state of mind, where he could just see little energies that the organisms gave off, like little stars on the night sky.

After he returned to Arya he told her about the energies that he had seen. "But what did they tell you Díanel-Finiarel?" Díanel had to admit that he didn't know, for he didn't listen to any organism in particular. "Try again tomorrow after you have performed the Rimgar with Nari, I won't attend your training until after lunch, neither will Fírnen."

After the afternoon lessons Arya asked him about the animals that the dragons had hunted that day. For the second time that day Díanel had to admit that he didn't know. "Now that you're bonding grows stronger, you should share your experiences at any time. Even though Izar is still young and doesn't receive a serious training yet, you should listen to her thoughts. I don't like to share thoughts when Fírnen hunts, but I know he needs too to survive, and I always am in his thoughts so that when dangers arises, I know immediately. I expect the same from my students. You may go now."  
"Yes Arya-Ebrithil"

Díanel felt bad that they disappointed their masters twice on that day. He did not want to walk in the city that night, instead he opened the window of his bedroom and went outside to watch the stars with Izar. She was already reaching his shoulders with her head and soon he would be able to fly on her.

 _The soft summer wind brings peace to blow away troubled thoughts, Díanel partner-of-heart-and-mind. Tomorrow we will be better than today. And the day after even more. We must listen to our masters and soon we will be flying towards the other riders and dragons and learn everything there is so that we might rule the skies. Clear your head for now and enjoy this peace._

 _You always know what to say, you are so wise for one so young, little star._

 _Wisdom is passed on through dragons, I do not know much yet, but I've gained wisdom through my ancestors, though I haven't met them. Let us enjoy this peace for now, stargazer, for it won't be long before the winds bring different tidings._

Izar did not know what she spoke of, but Arya had told Díanel that sometimes dragon knew things without them knowing how they knew it. As dragons were the first inhabitants of Alagaësia, along with dwarves, they were connected to the core of the land and could unconscious sense flowing different tidings.

They were sitting their peacefully until they fell asleep under the open sky.

After Díanel had performed the Rimgar he went to sit on the rock again, and this time he tried to listen to the organisms. After he reported to Arya she told him that he made the same mistakes that Eragon once made. "You are supposed to listen to all creatures at once, I ask this of you so that on the battlefield you can immediately sense where enemy spell casters are, or whenever you walk into a crowd you can sense who means you harm. Do not try this among the elves though before you have learned how to control your own mind. You could get lost, just like you did in my mind."

They discussed Brom and his hunt of the Forsworn and how he founded the Varden. They debated over whether the Varden was a good thing or not, since their founding was the start of the death of many. Díanel had a hard time when his childhood stories where looked at from a different perspective. He had always viewed Roran as a war hero, but now Arya told him about the deaths he had caused, even among the villagers of Carvahall.

After he had discussed it with Izar that night, he decided that there are no heroes in a war, there are just people who do what needs to be done, even if it means having dealing with casualties. It is a burden instead of a glorious role and it may never be considered easy. He now understood why Arya was so angry when he had called her dragon-slayer.

The next two weeks Izar grew rapidly and not for long her back reached Díanel's chest. Díanel improved at guarding his mind and still excelled at the language and puzzles. He learned more history lessons of mainly the riders itself. He moved on to the second stage of the Rimgar, which was way harder than the first one, which he mastered.

On a morning, Arya came to him after his meditation on the rock with a second saddle. It was time for him to ride Izar. It was much more intense than flying with Fírnen for they shared a mental connection as well. He looked through Izar's eyes and it felt like they were one. They both had control over their wings and senses. It was amazing. Everything was much brighter and in a different hue, for Izar's eyes were made for flying and spotting prey. It made their bond much stronger again.

When they landed Arya told him that they would soon start with learning maneuvering for battles. They were allowed to fly together each day from now on. And tomorrow they would start with training from a new location, as long as they trained with Arya and Fírnen at least, for Nari could not reach that place.

Díanel wondered why.

After he failed at the second stage of the Rimgar, he was ushered to mount Izar. They followed Fírnen and Arya for a while until they left the city. _I know where we're going! I have often read and heard of this place, we're going to the Crags of Tel'Naeir!_ Díanel figured out once he saw the cliffs.

 _This is where big-pine-Elda Fírnen was raised by pointy-ear-Elda Arya and where Saphira-the-oldest was trained by ancient-old-Glaedr._ Izar was at least just as excited as Díanel. Once they arrived they saw the huts where Oromis used to live in. It was filled with scrolls which Arya did not want to share with the other elves.

After a day of training they arrived back in the city center, where the two eggs were still on the island. Arya told them to follow them as they were appointed a new room. They went to the edge of the city, where six houses where placed. Arya told them that the dragon riders of old days used to stay there whenever they visited.

One day Díanel had asked Arya why they never trained with the sword. She replied that it was more important that he truly mastered his body, by practicing the Rimgar, for there was no immediate need for him to master the sword, and when he controlled his body it would be easier to control the sword.

He accepted this explanation and never brought it up again.

After three more weeks, Arya came to him and told him that they would fly to Carvahall tomorrow, so that he could say his parents goodbye before leaving for Gjarzla Hjarta to receive the rest of his training from the other riders.

Díanel was very excited by the announcement. He eventually grew bored in this city. He loved the city but he couldn't really enjoy himself in the presence of the elves. Mina and Nari were the only exceptions, but they were busy with their own duties. Izar provided good company as she was very eager to learn and discuss matters. Díanel was impressed by how smart and wise she was, and often he felt himself as a new-born when discussing things with her.

She had grown bigger than him by now and it looked like she would remain a slim dragon. She was very agile and Fírnen sometimes had a hard time whenever they were training how to fight. Even though Fírnen was way bigger and faster, Izal was very quick and agile which she used to her advantage in ingenious ways.

Ever since Arya had become their teacher she never opened up again. She became just as reserved as many other elves. Sometimes when they discussed the Rider war and the role of Arya and the other heroes, she showed some emotion in her face, but always quickly hide it again. Díanel regretted this, for he knew she was so much more than she let others see. But now even more than before, it was not his place to comment on it.

After Díanel gathered all his stuff, which only consisted of clothes and his sword, which he never had used in Ellesméra, they departed towards the outskirts of the city, where they would meet the queen and her dragon.

When Díanel and Izar arrived they were surprised to see Mina there as well. Arya explained that she saw potential in Mina to be an ambassador to the elves and that she would bring her along to see a human town and get to know it's inhabitants.

Mina took place on Fírnen as well, behind Arya. It was a mighty sight to see the raw and powerful Fírnen and the smaller but beautiful sparkling Izar take off together.

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 **I know this was a boring filler chapter. Sorry for that guys. The next one will be better when we get to see Carvahall! We will meet Roran and another surprising huge character from IC. Any guesses?**

 **It will be up in one or two days.**


	6. A gathering of power

**(A/N)**

 **After last chapter i had to made up to you guys. So I wanted to publish this one as soon as possible. It sets the cards for the next few chapters and gives some teases. Enjoy!**

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After four days of flying the three dragon-back travelers arrived in Carvahall. They were flying with a greater speed than Díanel had anticipated. Even though Izar was strong enough to fly with him on her back for a day, she had trouble keeping up with the pace that Fírnen kept up.

Every night she was exhausted and after her hunt she fell asleep. She wasn't even to keep her eyes open to see Díanel get his lessons in the ancient language and mind controlling, which they now did in a competitive battling form.

The only thing that kept Izar from complaining was her pride. She was a dragoness bound to a rider. No way she would let him or their masters down. So she forced herself to keep going but she felt a big wave of relieve rushing through when Díanel announced that they were in the Palancar Valley and that he could see the smoke from the small city Carvahall.

It was a few hours before dawn when they arrived at the edge of the city. There was only one road that led in and out of Carvahall, save for the one leading into the Spine. At the western side of the road was a mountain wall and on the other side were cliffs. When Carvahall was just a small town it was used only by the farmers who lived outside of the town, and the traders that came once a year. Now that Carvahall flourished the road was always crowded and dangerous, for this reason fences were built on the cliff side, to prevent people and livestock from falling to their deaths. At the end of road, just before entering the city stood a mighty castle built against a mountain. Roran had this castle built just after the war, to secure his position and deal with bandits or rogue Urgals. It towered high above the road and was an intimidating sight.

During the flight over the road, they reached out and sensed the minds of others. They felt no danger, just a lot of awe coming from the people upon seeing the dragons. People were racing towards the city and it created a dangerous situation on the small road. Arya quickly send word to Roran's court mage to send guards to control the situation before people got hurt.

The dragons and their three riders landed just before the main gate. Díanel climbed off Izar's back and turned towards the crowd that gathered on the courtyard, just in time to catch his mother who jumped right at him. "Oh my son, how I've missed you. Your letter was not enough to reassure a mother's heart. I was afraid that you would leave for the east without visiting us after you didn't return after a month."

"Let us not dwell on that, Serinel, my love. Let us be proud of our son, who left as a boy and returned as a man, a Rider nonetheless."

Díanel looked up from his mother to his father, Baldor Horstson. His father was a bit taller than he was, and broader in his shoulders. His blond hair was tied in a tail and he had a rough beard. Díanel let go of his mother and stepped forward to hug his father.

After he let go he said: "Mom, dad, I want to introduce you to Izar, my silverlight dragon, who lights up the darkest of nights with her wisdom and comfort."  
 _It is an honor to get to know the sire and mother of the partner-of-my-mind-and-heart._ Izar spoke to all three of them, before she pressed her snout against Serinel and Baldor.

Serinel and Baldor both were lost of words. They were staggered by the beautiful dragon, that was now before them. Baldor murmured: "Mighty dragon, Izar, make sure to return Díanel to the arms of his mother with your strong wings every now and then, for she would never forget her only child."

 _I will, sire-of-Díanel. I have just met you but I've seen you in the memories of Díanel. You both have raised him well and I'm honored to be called your family._

At this Serinel cried. "You take away my son, but still I feel nothing but love and respect for you. I am torn between the pain of losing my son and the pride I feel for him becoming a Rider. A rider of such a beautiful dragon. You are my family, Izar, the brightest of all stars."

After a comforting silence fell upon them, Arya, Fírnen and Albreich came walking towards them. "Baldor-Finiarel, may I thank you for the armor for Fírnen that came from your forge. It is most well received and I could not wish for anything better. All elves honor your smithy. I take it the payment is received in good manner?" Baldor confirmed this.

Díanel hugged his uncle and introduced him to Izar. At the same time Fírnen told Baldor what he had already told Albreich: _It is a shame to hide my beautiful scales, but your armor fits like a second skin and it is almost as strong as a dragons claw. You have my thanks, Baldor-steel-smelter._

"I am sorry to interrupt your reunion, but for now there are more pressing mattes we must attend to, Díanel-Finiarel. We are summoned into Roran's halls. Depending on the outcome of the meeting, we will see how long we will stay in Carvahall. Though I don't think it will be longer than one or two days. I'm sorry Serinel."

Once inside the halls, Roran greeted Arya with the elven formal greeting and gave a strong hug to Díanel. Then he noticed Mina and greeted her in the elven way as well.

Roran led them to the grand meeting room, where some of his advisors were. Díanel knew most of them by either face, name or both. He also noticed some dwarves in the room. As the doors closed behind them, he saw three figures walking in from the other side of the room. The first of them wore a golden, sleeveless dress. Her skin was dark and on her forearms were six scars on one arm, and three on the other. On her dark hair rested a golden crown. The one behind her was a human of old age, though he still had a powerful step.

The third one was an Urgal. No, it was a kull. He wore a leather body which was partly covered by mail. His horns pierced right up his head and his yellow eyes, and his muscles where even bigger than those of Albreich.

Díanel was surprised that Nasuada, the High Queen, was here. The others must be Jörmundur and Nar Garzvhog. He now understood why Arya was suddenly in such a hurry. Though he didn't understand why they were all gathered here.

He saw the same look of surprise on Mina's face. As everyone was seated, Roran kicked off and introduced everyone. They first started to discuss matters regarding the trade between the different races and how they all wished for Carvahall to become an interracial city. This meant that Roran would stay the Earl of Palancar, but he would be advised by a council where all races had a seat. They also came up with a new name: Estenir, derived from Skölir, which meant shield and Esterni, good fortune.

During this talk Díanel listened with interest. This was the first time he was involved in politics and even though he didn't have to say anything about the matter, he was glad he was invited. But it seemed like much was already discussed before and they were just closing the last small matters, such as how the different houses would look like and in which part of the city the different merchants would find residence. Matters that were not resolved during this talk were how to deal with the problem of the small road. Even though Nar Garzvhog offered to build a road to Narda, through the Spine. It seemed like the remaining matters would be resolved in the next coming days, since Roran closed the meeting for this day.

Everyone removed himself from the chamber, except Roran, Nasuada, Nar Garzvhog, and the two Riders, even Mina was sent away by Arya.

This time Arya opened the meeting: 'Again a dragon has hatched for a rider from Carvahall, it seems the people here have remarkable features that the dragons favor. Though I do bring tidings of doubt with me. Izar was unwilling to hatch at first, not before she got some encouragement from my wise raven. I do not know the circumstances of Lokini's hatching for Ismira, but I think that there was something forwarding his hatching as well. For the last decade, every other dragon was unwilling to hatch. Not even the wild dragons are hatching. You all know this and we hoped that it would be over with the hatching of Lokini. It is not. Even though we have another rider in our midst the problem remains. I've listened to the eggs remaining in Ellesméra, and they show no signs of live, they are deep within their slumber. Deeper than usual for dragons in their eggs. I'm sure the same goes for the eggs amongst the other races and even the eggs on Gjarzla Hjarta.

I already know the answer, but still I must ask: did any of you had contact with the riders or others on Gjarzla Hjarta in the last three years?" Arya looked at the others, her gaze resting upon Roran, whose faced flickered with sadness for a moment. They all shook their heads.

"This makes the problem even more important. We do not know what happens on the island. Neither do we know where Murtagh and Thorn are at the moment. All we know is that the dragons refuse to hatch. And for the last decade Fírnen had no desire to take a mate, along with the other dragons I guess." She paused and everyone seemed concerned by her words.

Díanel hesitated before he stood up and addressed the others: "During the Fall the dragons decided not to mate right? For there was corruption amongst their own kind, do you think something like that could be happening again, Arya-Ebrithil?"

"No, that can't be it. All existing dragons are being monitored, even if Thorn and Murtagh would do something astray, we would know. Though the dragons must feel that there is something threatening their race."

Nasuada was listening intensely during this, but now she stood up. "But what can threaten a dragon? And what can threaten their whole race? We didn't have any big threats in Alagaësia for at least fifteen years. The races are at peace."

"It might be something in the east. Though I'm sure Eragon would have told us if something was amiss. I have to admit I do not have the answers Nasuada-Svit-Kona." Arya replied.

"Why do we not contact Flamesword and his riders?" Garzvhog spoke simple but true words.

Nasuada replied: "Why would we, he has forgotten about us. The island only seeks contact on matters regarding the eggs or new riders, and it is never Eragon who appears.. He does not care for the fate of Alagaësia. Apparently he is fine with staying our war hero. Not someone who helps us rebuild. Just as the other riders show no interest in Alagaesian matters."

Díanel felt himself shame for his fellow riders. "When I have fulfilled my training, I will return to assist the people of Alagaësia." He thought of the words to repeat this promise in the ancient language. When he stated the first two words, Arya realized what he was about to say and quickly cast a spell on him to stop talking and froze his tongue in its movement.

"Never take a promise in the ancient language you can't fulfill, Díanel. The riders might have their reasons for not returning.  
I agree with Garzvhog, I need to inform the island that we have a new rider among us. But I wanted to wait for this meeting, so that we could all attend. Roran, can you call for a mirror so that we might scry them?"

Díanel felt himself embarrassed in front of so many leaders. He stared at his feet until two servants arrived with a big mirror.

Arya said the words and the surface of the mirror rippled, until a library appeared. It took a few seconds before a dwarven female appeared in front of it.

"Arya-Elda, I'm surprised." It seemed she only now saw the others in the room, and all addressed them by name, except Díanel. Herna, for it was her of course, seemed a bit angry at the sudden appearance of so many leaders, only king Orik wasn't there. "This surprises me even more. What matters do you wish to discuss?"

Arya swallowed before she answered: "We would like to speak to the First Rider, Eragon."

"Of course, I'm afraid he isn't available though. You'll have to do with me."

Díanel noticed a mixture of relief and anger on Arya's face. He had no idea what happened, but it seemed like the relationship between the Alagaësians and those on the island were tensed.

"We have concerns of the fate of the race of the dragons. Which I'm sure you'll have too, Herna- _dvergr_."

"We do, Arya- _älfa_ , though we don't have any knowledge to share about this topic, once we have figured out more, we will contact you. It seems you have a new rider among you, so the concerns might be ill-based. Is this rider ready to be trained with us?"

"He is, he shows great promise. But do not trouble yourself with escorting him. I will come to the island myself. You can inform your master of this. Goodbye."

Arya let go of the magic and the mirror your reflected their own images again.

"Ah the arrogance on that, that, child." Díanel had never seen Arya this angry before.

Neither did the others ones, according to their surprised faces.

"What do you hope to achieve on the island, Arya-Svit-Kona?" Roran asked the elven queen.

"I want answers. Answers to the problem regarding the dragons, answers to why they ignored Alagaësia and answers why they ignored the ones who love them."

At the moment she said the last words, she seemed to regret it. Though everyone in the room knew of the romance that could have been there between Arya and Eragon. Instead of thinking about them, they all thought off their own beloved ones who weren't seen for years. Ismira and Eragon for Roran. Eragon and Murtagh for Nasuada. Ismira for Díanel. Of all the gathered, only Nar Garzvhog had no one he loved on the island.

After the meeting was dismissed. Díanel spend the nights with his parents and invited Mina along too. It was a long time ago that he had so much fun, and he was sad that he would leave in two days. He had convinced Arya to stay one day longer than she had wanted. He told her that they should talk to Katrina, Orik and the other leaders again, if they wanted to ask the right questions once they got on the island.

The days flew by and before he knew he found himself in his mother's arms again. This time saying goodbye. It struck him hard to do so, but he knew that he must. He looked towards his teacher, who was very determined. He started to see her as an ally, and rare enough, the other riders as a kind of enemy. It was up to him and Arya to convince them to come to the right side again. A new sense of determination and duty fell upon him. He did not want to become a rider if that meant leaving the ones he loved behind.

 _Whatever we do stargazer, we will come back here, as I've promised your mother. We will not rot on the island like the others. Whatever keeps them there, it will not keep us. We have the queen of the elves and big-pine-Fírnen on our side. The stars will guide us back to Alagaësia again. I can feel it._

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 **I wanted Roran's mage to be Carn, but i looked him up and found out he died. I totally forgot. I liked him :(**

 **I hope this chapter was good enough to make up for the last one, let me know what you think of it!**

 **We're finally going to the Island and see some other huge characters. But why are they ignoring Alagaësia?! :O**

 **Keep following and find out.**

 **Lots of action promised as we arrive on the island!**


	7. The home of the Riders

**What did you guys think of my angry Arya last chapter by the way? Was it too out of character or did it fit for you?**

 **It's nice to see that you enjoy my story and that we've some new followers.**

 **Aaannnnndd we're finally on the island to get some answers.**

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It took Díanel, Izar and their masters three weeks to fly to Gjarzla Hjarta. They took the journey at ease, for there was no need to hurry. Lord Dathedr took over Arya's duties as a queen, as he has been doing in the times that Arya was training Díanel, or the other riders before him.

Often they took little side trips, so that Arya and Fírnen could show places to their apprentices that had a great impact on history, be it for the elves, humans, dwarves, dragons, riders or all of them. Such as the plains where Eragon the first found the dragon egg, he would come to raise. They also visited many elves cities on their way east. Arya introduced him to a lot of great houses of the elves and he could not remember all their names. He had the feeling that Arya was trying to turn him into her ally, which she might need once they reached the island. He talked about this with Izar and they concluded that whatever the reason was the riders lived isolated, they would not forget where they came from and the people that they loved. Nor their duty as a rider couple to protect the inhabitants of Alagaësia. They would try not to get torn apart between Arya and Eragon, but if it would come to that, they believed that Arya was the one that most held to duty to protect the races.

Once they reached the east of the Hadarac desert, the weather was still good, summer had passed but still had its influence. The sun shone bright during the day, and a calm and welcome western breeze carried them in the right direction. Arya told Díanel many stories and lessons during the day and they only conversed in the ancient language. Díanel often played riddle games with the two dragons and though he wasn't as good as them, he was better than Arya. He had mastered his mind and could sense living beings from up to a hundred feet away.

He could have been a great elf, save for his physical abilities. He was still just in the second stage of the Rimgar and Arya told him that they would only start with sword practice when he reached the third. He was strong and muscular, but he was still struggling with the flexibility and coordination needed for the Rimgar.  
During the nights at camp Arya started teaching him to use magic. At first he had to fill a bowl with water, but there was a big gap in the bowl so the water poured away just as fast as he filled the bowl. After a few nights he grew so frustrated that he somehow blocked the water around the gap. Ever since this he knew how to call on his magic and Arya told him to guide it with the ancient language. The next day the dragons went off to a former wild dragon residence, and Arya was very serious while teaching Díanel the rules of magic, such as always building in an escape to your spell.

She also explained why she had cut him off when he wanted to promise something in the ancient language.

The last week of their journey was spend with mentally talking about different ways to use magic. While riding Izar, Díanel often tried to lift a small stone, and later multiple at once. He also learned how to connect himself with Izar, and use the energy of both. His knowledge of the ancient language came in good use and he often discussed different ways to accomplish the same thing with Arya. He was as good at forming spells as he was in riddles. Even though his magic was not yet strong enough to use those spells. Arya told him often that he had a very creative and smart mind, which would make up for his lack in physical abilities. The first times he was surprised when she said this. But during their journey she seemed to open up more and let go of the teacher/student relationship. Díanel felt like he finally got to know more of the real Arya, who he started to think of as a friend.

They followed the Edda river, just as Eragon had did when he left Alagaësia. Arya told Díanel about his departure. Though she only stated the facts, she didn't share any personal opinion with Díanel on the matter. It took them a week before Arya said: "Those mountains you see over there, that are the mountains that hold the dragons, both wild and bounded to a rider. That is our destination."

From a far Díanel could see the mountains growing. It was an amazing sight to behold. Some of the mountaintops touched the clouds and he wondered if you could reach the stars from up there. When they came closer more and more shapes could be distinguished.

The river ended in a big lake, he noticed two days after he had first seen the mountains. Bigger even than the Leona lake, where Díanel once had been while they travelled from Surda to Carvahall. The lake was surrounded by mountains, like an impenetrable wall. The only opening was from the river. No one on foot could ever conquer these mountains.

In the middle of the lake was a big island, there were three mountain peaks, as it seemed. They were not as high as the mountains that surrounded the lake, but they were bigger than any mountain in the Spine. The edges of the island were covered with forest, but above a certain border there were only rocks and grass. Surrounding the big island where smaller rocky islands, which also consisted of mountains. None of them where even half as high as the one in the middle, but still they were big enough to house a few dragons.

The sun was already set behind the mountains, and in the dusky sky some dragons could be seen flying above the lake. It was impossible to say how big they were from this distance.

"We'll camp here for the night. Tomorrow will be an exhausting day and I want us to be well rested. No training tonight." Arya told Díanel and Izar.

 _Ever day we get closer to island, Arya seems to be getting more tense._ Díanel shared his thoughts with Izar.

 _I think it will be a hard confrontation for her. You know she only visited the island once. When she accompanied Rhünon here. That was not even a year after the war. There must be a lot of unresolved issues between her and Eragon. And she seems to dislike Herna, which is understandable._

 _Does Fírnen say anything about it?_

 _No, just that it is right that Arya goes to the island. It is not easy, but it is the right path. But I wonder where it will lead us too. We should follow our hearts, stargazer. For only we can decide what is right for us._

Izar and Díanel gazed upon the stars that night, just as they did almost every night. Sleep did not come to them and they talked about what would happen tomorrow. They were both excited and tensed. They wanted to meet other dragons and riders. Díanel would see Ismira again! But then again, would she want to see him? She had not contacted him in those three years since Likoni hatched. The feeling they carried ever since they scryed with Herna back in Carvahall didn't fade away. There was tension between the riders and Arya and the other leaders of Alagaësia and they might have to pick sides tomorrow.

Eventually an uneasy sleep came over them.

It took them three more hours before they were at the estuary of the river. At a point where the river was at its smallest, stone pillars rose out of the water, so that no ship could pass. Díanel could see the depths of the water and pillars, for the water was clear as glass. Many small fishes swum between the pillars. The dragons landed on the stone shore next to it.

"Those pillars have been placed there by Eragon when he first found this place. It serves as a protection from invaders. Not even elves have the power to magically lower them all in one day, unless it are a group of more than ten elves, but then they would be so tired that they won't be able to fight anymore.

If visitors are coming to the island, they have to go to Udnar, who will bring them with his own boat." Arya explained.

Only now Díanel noticed the small wooden hut build next to the lake. There was a dwarf walking towards them.

"Hail Arya, queen of the elves, I see you have another student to deliver to the island. Though I am not informed by the inhabitants that you would be coming." "Hi Udnar, good to see you again." Arya said with a small smile. "They knew I was coming, though they did not know when. This are Díanel Baldorson and Izar starlight. We come by to visit you another day, we want to arrive at the island as soon as possible."

"You might not like what you find on the island, wise Arya."

"What was that all about?" Díanel asked once they were in the sky again.

"I think we'll find out when we get there."

After Arya's reply they remained silent for a while until Díanel broke the silence and asked if Udnar was a gatekeeper or warden or such.

"Yes and no, he was one of the dwarves that came here with Herna, but he did not really like the mixed population on the island, though he loves the dragons. So he came out here to seek solitude. The wild dragons are fond of him and often visit him to bring big fish or some animals they caught in the mountains."

The flight to the island took them one hour, and many wild dragons regarded them from a distance. Some did so with hostile eyes towards Fírnen, or so it seemed to Díanel and Izar. They did not dare to question their masters about this.

Once they were getting close to the island, Fírnen gained altitude and Izar followed him. Between the rocks where many caves and some housed dragons or birds. Of all the dragons they had seen so far, every single one of them was way bigger than Izar.

They followed Fírnen through the part where the first mountain split and grew into two separate peaks, the third peak was at the other side of the island. As they flew between the base of the peaks, which were still a couple of hundred feet above them, Díanel noticed two large dragon statues on both sides, on their back were riders.

 _Glaedr and Oromis and Brom and his Saphira I think. Both the teachers of Eragon, they have laid out the foundation for the new order._ Izar told Díanel mentally.

 _I guess we'll figure out soon if the other is what they had in thoughts._ Díanel dryly implied. The tension in his body reached a higher point and he was currently unable to appreciate all the beauty around him.

That was until he could see a clear open square before him. Where five dragons were waiting on them. They were a magnificent sight to behold.

Díanel knew all of them by name.

There were Herna and her earthly colored Harnon, his scales shined like copper in the sun. He was just a bit smaller than Fírnen, though he was bulkier, especially around his legs and neck, he seemed to be build more for brute force than Fírnen was.

Next to them were Nurin and Hismal, the daughter of Glaedr. Her golden scales were even brighter than the sun and she was the one with the most grace. Díanel felt a sting of envy coming from Izar when she had read his thoughts.

Díanel recognized Kundog with ease, the big Urgal was sitting on Tian, his bright colored purple dragoness. She was even bigger than Fírnen, and she was roughly shaped compared to the others. In addition to the spikes running down her spine, she had also two horns, as big as Díanels forearm, sticking out above her ears.

Díanel's gaze lingered upon Ismira. Beautiful Ismira. She had grown even prettier over the years he had not seen her. She had perfect copper hair that fell in curls over her shoulder, slightly waved by the wind. Her body had grown fuller and she was wearing a sleeveless leather tunic. He felt a sting in his chest at the sight of her. He was both relieved that she was doing fine, even happy to see her. But he felt the hurt again. The hurt he had forced away after she had not contacted him for over a year. He was doing fine, but never forgot about her. Seeing her now was if all the pain he had pushed away was collapsing over him. He could see an even bigger surprise in her eyes. She knew of a new rider, but did not expect it to be Díanel. Her former love interest.

She was sitting on top of Lokini, the ice-blue male dragon. He had a slim snout, just as the rest of his body was slim and long, instead of tall. He was the smallest of them, even still he was a couple of feet bigger than Izar.

Last was Eragon on top of Saphira. Even though Hismal had the most grace, it was clear to see that Saphira was the queen of them all, if dragons would have one. She was the most majestic, by far. Her sapphire scales glittered like sunrays on water, and her deep blue eyes showed both great knowledge and pride.

In contrast to his dragon, Eragon looked nothing like he did on the fairths Díanel had seen of him in Ellesméra. His brown hair had grown darker and greasy, it was tied in an untidy ponytail. His beard was just as untidy as his hair and came halfway to his chest. His skin was pale and he had red circles around his eyes, indicating that he barely had spent time outside. Díanel noticed that he also looked slimmer than he did before.

Díanel was disappointed by his appearance. He expected the leader of the dragon riders to have the same majesty as his dragoness. But he was just an empty vessel of the fabled war hero who killed the Mad King.

Saphira jumped up and rose to the same height as Fírnen and Izar with one flap of her wings. The other riders followed.

"Why?! Why have you come here? After all those years you ignored us, we are your fellow-riders, we are your kin, your family! You should've been here with us, train with us. Fírnen deserved that, we deserved that, _I_ deserved that." Eragon suddenly shouted, unable to control his anger and despair.

"Eragon, control yourself. Let us not do that here and with the others around. We will speak in time, but for now, I want to introduce a new rider couple to all of you. This is…" Arya stopped as Saphira turned around and flew towards a building with Eragon. The other riders remained.

"You should not have come, Arya. We could have escorted Díanel, as we always did. You bring nothing but trouble towards our way of life." Nurin looked to Herna, for it was her who had spoken, with a face full of disapprove.

Before Arya could reply, Izar shot forward and Díanel shouted. "You call this your way of life!? You are dragon riders, dragons, you should be helping the people of Alagaësia. The ones who need you the most, the ones you love." While saying the last words he looked at Ismira and something blocked his throat.

He cleared it quickly and went on: "No one in Alagaësia knows anything about you. There are barely eggs hatching and when they hatch there is barely joy, for no rider had ever returned from this island. You live your isolated lives here and do not care at all about the people who raised you, the people you swore to protect. If this is what it means to be a rider, I do not wish to join your order."

"You have your heart in the right place, Díanel-Finiarel, but you speak out of turn. We all came here with the same motivations as you do, but we have our reasons to keep ourselves isolated. Never question the motivation of your elders." With this, Herna and Harnon flew away, after Eragon and Saphira.

"Truer words have not been spoking on this island, Star-rider, both by you and by Herna. Follow us if you wish and we'll try to explain as best as we can. You too, Arya-elda."

Díanel was surprised of the urgal, Kundog. He seemed to be the peacemaker in the group that was left. Díanel mentally sought contact with Arya.

 _Arya, I think the time for secrets is over. What do I need to know about the recent history of the riders?_  
 _Eragon has always had feelings for me, Díanel. But due to my age, race and duty I was unable to answer them. When he left Alagaësia I told him that we might be together someday. That day never came, to his disappointment. I scryed with him a few times in the beginning of the new order and one time I came here, but he was very straightforward about his feelings and I was not ready to answer them and to leave the elves behind. So I told him that the contact should be of pure political reasons from now on, I haven't seen him ever since. Back then Herna and Kundog were still in the first years of their training, so Eragon never left the island.  
I don't know what happened after that. When I brought Nurin to Herna, she was very business-like, almost rude. I never talked with her about more than how the dragons and riders were doing, but she always seemed to dislike me. When the dragons stopped to hatch, I contacted the island, as did the other leaders. No one got to see Eragon, not even Roran. It was always Herna doing the talking, if you could so call the scoffing us away that she did. You have seen it for yourself in Carvahall. All we ever heard was that they were busy researching the problem. I never dared to come here, afraid to face Eragon, and myself..._

They arrived in a hall where large dining tables stood. The openings where big enough for dragons to come as well. The openings where shielded with a thin membrane, just as they had in Ellesméra. When the weather got bad they could easily close it.

Nurin and Ismira walked to the kitchen to get food for all of them.

In the time they waited, Kundog regarded Arya and Díanel. Díanel returned this favor.

Kundog was green of skin. The urgals in Carvahall were often grey of skin, but apparently Kundog was from a tribe further to the north, as Arya had once told him. His horns were big and had a full-grown curl in them. He had spikey black hair on the top of his head. His nose was broad and above his nose were small yellow eyes, that shone with intelligence. He had a big lower lip, and some teeth could be seen above it.

Despite his appearance, he seemed to have a friendly aura around him. This was confirmed when he spoke in the ancient language: "It is good that you both have come. There are issues on this island that have been unsolved for too long. It are not only the dragons that are threatened."

Arya nodded, but didn't reply. Neither did Díanel, for he did not know what to say.

Once Nurin and Ismira returned they started eating. Of course there was no meat. After a few bites Arya disrupted the meal.

"Forgive me for my impatience. But food can wait until you've explained the situation. I cannot stand to wait any longer, I have done my waiting for one and a half decade. Now is the time for answers."

"You are right, Arya-Elda. We estimated that you must have been hungry from your travels, but we will tell you what we can, if you wish so." Kundog looked at Nurin for assurance.

He nodded, and so did Arya. So Kundog continued:

"When I was still a young urgal, Tian hatched for me. And we trained with you, in Ellesméra. After you handed us over to the elves to be escorted to Gjarzla Hjarta, I've not spoken with you again. Of course you know all this, but Díanel should also know if he comes to live with us, or not." He added with Díanel's outrage in mind.

"We trained here with Eragon, Saphira, Herna and Harnon and the elves. At one point, Eragon suddenly flew off the island and did not return for two weeks. This was after the last time you and him scryed. After he returned, he was not the same. He was secluded and spend a lot of time… _inside the heart._ " It seemed to Díanel like Kundog wanted to say something else, but changed his mind when he looked at Díanel. Arya nodded as if she understood what he meant.

"For a while, Herna and I could not reach him. Neither did Saphira want to tell us what was wrong. This went on for years and Herna grew very protective over him. That is why she always scoffed you and the others from Alagaësia away. We did not want to heavy his burden with thoughts of his home. When Nurin and later Ismira came, we first told them that Eragon was very busy. After they started to ask questions we told them the truth. Eragon is looking for a way to return to Alagaësia. A way to return to you, Arya." Kundog fell silent, waiting for a reply.

Shock and regret filled Arya's face, before she hardened herself and told Kundog to go on.

"We all made a promise, that we would tell no one outside of the island. It was foolish to do so, especially from me. But Herna convinced me that it was what Eragon needed. I did it out of love for Eragon. And Nurin and Ismira were forced by Herna to take that vow when they first got here, not knowing the full intents and thinking it was just to keep their training secret. We did not keep contact with our families in Alagaësia, because it was too hard to answers the questions you all had.

We're glad that you have arrived, for it is clear that we have made mistakes, big mistakes. We need your help Arya-Elda. We should have asked you to come much sooner. Please, forgive us." Kundog lowered his gaze, during his explanation he had been looking straight in Arya's eyes, but now shame filled his and he looked down. Ismira's eyes were filled with tears. She was by far the youngest on the island and it was just three years ago that she had left her family behind to live with her uncle, the mighty Eragon Kingslayer.

"Please, forgive me." She whispered, more to Díanel than Arya.

"I'm glad that you have told me at last. I too have made mistakes by never visiting you, and only Eragon once before you came here. I will talk to Eragon. I hope we can work this out as soon as possible. For we need to resolve the dragon-issue. We need a focused Eragon for that."

Arya looked even more determined than when they left Carvahall.

It was not just duty that drove her, she cared too much for Eragon to let him become what he is now. She would do anything to help him get back to his former self.

* * *

 **Alright, I have to confess: I never meant for Eragon to be as he currently is, nor did I seek to drive the tension up that high as i did last chapter, it just felt right to do so.**

 **I needed a reason to why the riders were never seen in Alagaësia, and simply that there was no need to didn't feel right.**

 **I hope you will find this reasoning believable and fitting. Please let me know what you think of it, for i'm not sure if i like the direction where we're currently going. I can wrap this up quickly and get to the main story, or stick around and do some character building... I'm not sure yet.**

 **Anyway, we will get more background of Herna (she's a bitch, isn't she?). We will get scenes with Ismira and Díanel. We will get scenes with Arya and Eragon.**

 **And Murtagh and Thorn will soon contact the riders.**


	8. The tears of a Queen

**Hi everyone.**

 **It's been 5 days since i last uploaded, which is a lot for me haha. So here's my longest chapter so far!**

 **Thank you all for your support again. And I decided to stick around on Gjarzla Hjarta for some character development. There are a lot of issues to resolve as you know, and here's a sneak peak for you guys: there will be some romance, though you have to figure out for yourselves who will get lucky.**

 **I'm sorry for LukasAlbert, but this chapter we don't get any Kundog (the urgal rider) but i'll promise he'll come around again.**

 **This chapter features multiple POV's, which i haven't really done before, save for one very small part of Arya somewhere in chapter 4 i think.**

 **Anyway, hope you enjoy it!**

* * *

 _Little one._

Eragon felt Saphira at the edge of his consciousness but he kept his walls up. He did not want to talk to her. Not to anyone for that matter. He wanted to drown himself in his self-pity. No one understood him anyway. Not even Saphira. Dragons don't fall in love, they mate with others for a while until they grow bored of each other and find another. No, this was his pain, he needed to deal with this alone.

 _Little one!_ Saphira rammed into his walls this time. Eragon could barely keep it up, but he managed. He mentally shouted in all directions. _Leave me alone!_

 _Little one!_ With an overwhelming force, and probably backed up by some of the eldunari she was carrying, Saphira broke through his defenses and her anger filled his mind.

 _Never shut me out. For the head leader of the riders you are still a stubborn child._ He felt stupid, but got angry too that she lectured him like this.

 _You don't understand Saphira._

 _Then explain it._ Her anger made room for sincere concern, but she was still on edge.

 _I can't Saphira. I don't know what's wrong with me. I thought I was fine. I thought I was prepared. I thought everything would be alright if Arya came here and I got a chance to work things out with her. But once she appeared a blind anger took control of me and I only made it worse. I am a fool, I am so goddamn stupid Saphira, she would never want me. Despite all the knowledge the eldunari shared with me, I am still a child in her eyes. Even in yours._

 _No Eragon, you mistake my jesting words for truth. I have seen you grown from a newborn to a kingslayer. No one could have accomplished what you have. You have freed and inspired a nation! You have rebuild the dragon race and for that, all of Alagaësia is forever in your depth. All you have not done is follow your heart due to a prophecy made to a boy that is not anymore. Yes you are a fool. You are a fool for holding back your own desires. Who does Angela think she is to give you such a prophecy. Next time I see her she will have to answer to me for the pain she caused you._

 _No Saphira, I asked her to predict my future, remember?_

 _I don't care Eragon. She also promised you an epic romance, I haven't seen you having a mate for life, let alone a romance. Eragon, you are not the boy anymore you were back then in Teirm. You are now so much more. Your true name has changed, so has your fate. Do not linger on it Eragon. Arya is here now and you have a chance to make it right._

 _She came to talk about the threat to the dragons, which I completely ignored in my misery. She didn't come to me._

 _And why would she?! You ignored everyone in Alagaësia, Roran, Murtagh, Nasuada, Arya, you even ignored me Eragon. Can't you see it? We are all here. We all want to help you, if you just let us. You do not have to do all of this alone. You have me, Ismira, the other riders, the eldunari, Blödhgarm and his elves. And now even Arya. Do not carry the weight of the world alone Eragon. Let us help you._

 _I try Saphira. I really do. But all this pain is so much to carry. I think only Arya can fix me. But I don't dare to open up to her. What if she pushes me away again Saphira. It would be the end of me._

 _Eragon, you know she cares for you. She would never wish you no further harm. Have faith in her, she has come here for a reason._

 _Then why did she never contact me in all those years?_

On this Saphira had no answer, and they fell silent, both lost in thoughts.

Eragon heard a knocking on the door of the room he was in. And only now it occurred to him that he had locked himself in the small part of the library that was locked for the younger riders and the non-riders for it contained texts about the eldunari. That is why Saphira couldn't enter.

Again someone knocked on the door. Eragon stood up and quickly pulled his clothes straight. He then walked out of the door to face Herna, for it was her who stood their knocking.

"Ebrithil, your sudden departure concerned me. Are you alright?"

"Yes, but seeing the queen of the elves again fell hard on me. Harder than I expected. I'm sorry that I've lost my temper in front of you all".

"Don't dwell on it master. We are all merely concerned. Arya should not have come here. We did not invite her to come, neither do we have the answers she seeks. All she does is disrupting the peace we have here on the island."

"It is her right to come here, both as Queen of the elves as being the third eldest Rider, she even is a mentor to many of us, including me." Eragon couldn't take Herna talking bad about Arya, despite everything he still cared for her. Besides that, it was not Herna's place to question Arya's motives to come to the island.

"I know Ebrithil, I'm sorry for speaking out of turn, it upsets me to see you hurt by her coming. I just don't want to see what we've build here being disrupted without reason. There have been two eggs hatching in the last three years. Alagaësia is at peace. What could be the threat she talks about?" Herna appeared to be sincerely concerned by this. Eragon couldn't help but think she had a point. A spark of hope came to him, what if there was no true treat and Arya did came here for him?! He couldn't give voice to his hope though.

"I don't know Herna. I haven't been noticing anything that happened outside of my own mind for the last few years. All I know is that if she made the travel, Arya must have a reason for it."

"But please Eragon, heed caution around her. She has hurt you enough. We do not want to see you slip any further away from us. We need you to maintain the island. We need you as our leader, and a friend." Herna gently put her hand on Eragon's lower arm. He frowned but quickly recovered.

"I will talk to her in private and find out what the intention of her visit is. This time I will control myself. Thank you for your concerns, but you can go now."

«»

"So, we are currently on the platform, as we call it. When Eragon and the elves first came here from the west, they saw these mountain peaks and the platform between it. This place is the core of the dragon island. This is where the riders and trainers live. The other inhabitants live at the base of the mountain, in the village. It takes a day for humans to walk there. But on dragon back it should take you no longer than two hours."

"Wow, this place is magnificent". Díanel looked at Ismira and felt a knot in his stomach. The copper curls fell like a waterfall around her slightly tanned face. She looked back at him with her eyes, blue as Lokini's scales. After what felt like an eternity, she slightly blushed and lowered her eyes.

"Look, that is the main hall." She pointed at the building in which Eragon and Herna still resided after they went inside over an hour ago. The hall was very high and build against and inside the biggest of the two mountain peaks. It consisted solely out of a reddish stone. The roof stretched further than the walls and rested on big pillars. Underneath was a resting place large enough for even the biggest dragons. After thirty feet underneath the roof the walls came up, with in the middle a huge wooden front gate. In the wood where carvings of the glorious battle of Roran, Nar Garzhvog and queen Islanzadi against Lord Bard, during the siege of Uru'bean.

The hall consisted of multiple floors, the first floor held the great hall, which could be used for meetings and could house up to three hundred man and thirty dragons in time of need. There were rooms for smaller meetings and scrying rooms. On the next level was a big library. Eragon retrieved many of the old texts from Oromis' hut and Jeod gifted him with some unique pieces of his own collection. The elves and dwarves that came to live on the island also brought texts with them. There were even some Urgal texts. There were guests rooms for the scholars to stay for a longer period, if they wished so. Eragon's private quarters were at the back and had an entrance on the west side of the mountain as well. It was hid with the same spell that the Ra'zac had used in the Helgrind.

On the third and highest level of the great hall was an atrium. In this atrium were the texts about the stars and it contained a big telescope as well.

The kitchen and dining halls were also on the platform. Behind the kitchen was a vegetable garden, that was maintained by some elves and a dwarf. There was no need for meat and therefore no livestock on the mountain top. So the dwarves, urgals and humans that wanted meat needed to go down to the village.

Build against the other mountain peak were the Rider and teacher halls. Though Nurin favored the forest over stone, so he lived halfway down the mountain between the trees in a hut he had song himself, along with some of the elven teachers.

After the lunch Kundog and Tian went to the village for some errands and Arya went with Nurin to attend some matters that they didn't want to tell Ismira and Díanel about. They had left through a small door that suddenly appeared out of nowhere on one of the mountain peaks.  
Lokini took Izar out to hunt some of the big fishes that lived in the lake and were very tasty according to Lokini.

Díanel was impressed by the work Eragon and his associates had done in the last 20 years. All the buildings were huge and of smart design. They were clearly build with the grow of the dragon race and riders in mind. It seemed like all the people worked hard and determined for the new order. Even though all the tension that they experienced before, it felt like a place of peace and sanctuary.

 _This is amazing. I hope things all turn out fine and we can stay to train here. It seems like everything is so thought through and everyone loves to be here. We are destined to be here, I feel it in my core._ Díanel mentally told his dragoness.

 _You just confuse your feelings for the girl with the feelings for the place, young one. Do not forget the promise you made. We can train here, but we are destined to help the Alagaesians, with whatever trouble they face._ Izar replied while she was diving and snatched something that looked like a big fish with a shield around its body. Díanel smiled as he noticed Izar confused asking Lokini how she could eat that. Díanel let the connection fade to a mere acknowledgement of each other so he could focus on Ismira again.

They walked to the main hall and set down on a bench outside. In Carvahall the first snow should start falling somewhere around this time, but this far to the southeast it was still a nice Indian summer. They were sitting in the sunshine and Díanel saw the sun light Ismira's hair up like the flames in the forge of his father.

"How have you been?" he asked with a soft voice.

"It has been hard." Her voice was even softer, almost whispering as she stared at the floor in front of them. "At first I was so happy when Lokini hatched for me in Teirm. But then when I reached Carvahall I realized I had to say goodbye to the people I love, mom, dad, Hope and little Garrow… you."

She looked into his eyes as to measure his reaction. He gave a small smile and his heart warmed up. He remembered the sadness and despair that followed that day. The other people she mentioned were some of the people he loved too. Strangely enough, Hope was his aunt but she was just a year older as he was, just as Ismira is. He didn't know better than that Ismira and Hope were best friends. Little Garrow was two years his junior, and not so little anymore, in the contrary, but Ismira always teased him with him being younger. He nodded understanding to her and she continued.

"Then training with Arya was amazing. I loved the elven city and culture. You know I've always been interested in them, and living there for so long was truly wonderful. Have you been to the old hut of Oromis-Elda, there is so much history there."

Díanel smiled at the enthusiasm which suddenly came up and reflected through a sparkle in her blue eyes.

"But then my training there came to an end and I had to move to this place. Arya and Fírnen accompanied me for the first part, until Herna and Harnon came to pick me up. You must know that Herna is not as bad as she sounds. She is very protective and sometimes a bit fanatical, but in her heart she means well for all of us. But we'll see about that later.

I was looking forward to train with Eragon, my uncle. I never met him before, well only when I was a baby during the war, but never since, though in my youth I scryed with him sometimes. He always told me that I was destined for great things, and it turned out he was right, I guess since I'm a Rider now. When I arrived here I needed to swear that I would keep the ways of the island secret to anyone not on here, I thought it for the security of myself and the others, so I took the oath, as Kundog explained to you and Arya.

Then training began and I enjoyed it so much. I got along with Kundog and Nurin so well, despite the age difference. Kundog, Nurin and Herna thought me a lot about the different cultures and I was keen on becoming an ambassador, a negotiator between the races, I mastered the ancient language and I'm getting quite good at Dwarvish, though Urgal is still hard for me. Nurin trained me in archery, Kundog in aerial battling and Herna excels at healing magic. Sometimes the other elves, dwarves, humans or Urgals gave lectures or teachings as well and they can be found on the training grounds quite often. Laufin is the master of magic and one of the most comforting elves to talk too. It was a great time. There are some dwarves, urgals and even humans of our age in the village who's company I greatly enjoyed and I spend many nights talking about the games and other stuff with them.

But after a while I wanted to get to know my uncle. I always assumed he was busy with being the Head Rider and stuff. But once I completed the first stage of my training, Tuatha du orothrim, I started to ask questions and found him not to be the Eragon from the tales, or the Eragon from my youth. Kundog and Nurin were worrying for a long period before I arrived, but always hid their concerns from me. Later they involved me and we looked for a solution together. We were planning to ask Murtagh to come and intervene, but we could not contact him. We thought of Arya as a last resort, for she could make things better or worse, we will now see which will be the outcome, I guess." Ismira concluded with sadness and hesitation in her voice. It was clear to see that the last year had been hard on her. When she was talking about her training she was the sweet and enthusiastic girl he remembered from Carvahall, the girl he fell in love with. But now concerns were darkening her usually sparkling eyes and she seemed like she wanted to break down and cry.

"I don't know what to say. I'm sorry for shouting at you and the others for ignoring the Alagaesians, for ignoring me. I understand that it must have been hard for you. But we cannot lose hope, we can fix Eragon. You know Arya, she is very wise and powerful. I trust her with my life and I'm sure she'll lead the way when Eragon cannot." Díanel saw Ismira staring into his eyes. He placed a hand on her knee and she reacted by placing her own hand on top of his. Her eyes now mirrored his affection and conviction. He moved his hand to her cheek...

At that moment the dragons landed on the platform and disrupted them. Díanel and Ismira exchanged one more look before they both walked to their own dragon to hear about their hunt.

Of course Díanel knew a lot already through the connection they always had. But it was nice to hear Izar talking with such enthusiasm and he could feel her joy through their link.

 _Those fish are tastier than anything I've had before. You first have to crack their shells open, but after that they are a bit slimy and taste like, like, the best taste ever._ Díanel laughed at her failed attempted to describe the animal she ate.

 _And how is it to be the smallest dragon on the Island, starlight?_ He teasingly replied.

 _Lokini is great and so full of life. He is not as wise or mature as Fírnen-Ebrithil is, he is playful and wants to race with me all the time. He knows all the fun places on the island. We even touched the bottom of the lake, where the sun doesn't shine, it is almost as beautiful as the night sky. There are sparkling fishes swimming around._

Again Díanel felt himself fill with joy coming from Izar. He had never seen her this enthusiastic before and her joy reflected in a big smile on his face. He knew it was what Izar wanted, being here with her kin. He caught Ismira looking at him and smiling, and his own smile got even bigger if possible. He wanted to be here too.

«»

Arya and Nurin descended the thousand steps of the staircase. It was a moist and cramped staircase and it was lit by the magic lamps that the elves and dwarves used. They were relieved when they finally came out of the darkness and into the clearing before them. Somewhere halfway on the mountain was a pool, surrounded by rocks. The only entrance was the tunnel they just came from. It was too small for a dragon to land there and due to an overhanging rock it could hardly be seen from above. Eragon didn't want to take any risks, so he casted a concealing spell so that when flying over nothing but rocks could be seen.

The tunnel had let Arya and Nurin to the small patch of grass in front of the pool. There were some fish swimming in the pool but there were no birds or other animals.

"This is perfect." Was all that Arya said.

"We're not there yet". Nurin replied.

He walked in the pool till the water covered his knees. It was surprisingly steep and deep, even though the pool was that small. "Arya-Dröttning, we need to state our true names in order for the vault to open." Arya nodded.

"Will it be alright if I block your hearing while I tell mine?" Nurin asked with a slight hesitation, afraid to offend his Queen and Elder rider.

"Of course, Nurin-Finiarel. Don't feel weighted to ask such a thing. I would never expect you to share your name with me". Nurin nodded and cast the spell. Arya watched him as he spoke his true name and shivered. Then she could hear the wind and the flowing of the water again.

This time she blocked Nurin's hearing and stated her name. She shivered as she spoke her name and felt her core tremble. Then she lifted the spell.

For two seconds nothing happened. And then a passage opened at the floor of the pool. Nurin dove in there and Arya followed. After ten seconds they came in a cave and walked out of the water over a staircase. On top of this staircase stood Cuaroc's throne. Behind him was a wall with many notches in it. On the notches resided hundreds of Eldunari, all in different colors and sizes. They shone bright and the energy coming from them was overwhelming. The energy coming from the eldunari was pulsing, just like a heartbeat. This was why the island was named Gjarzla Hjarta, the heart of light.

The silver humanoid body with the head of a dragon, which was controlled by Cuaroc through his purple eldunari that was hidden in the chest of the body, strode to them.

 _It is good to see you again, Queen Arya. How was your training?_

 _Cuaroc, I take it you speak for the other eldunari as well?_

 _I do._

 _Good, the eldunari helped both me and Fírnen in a perfect way with our training. We've learned a lot about the dragon race and the different tactics. Things that are not written in the books we have in Du Weldenvarden._

 _I'm glad you returned, Arya. A lot of eldunari want to travel across Alagaësia again and it seems that Eragon or any of the other riders do not intend to leave this island though._

 _I'm not yet sure when I would return. But if I do I will take as many of you with me as I can. Of course I must discuss this with Umaroth and Eragon too._

"Could you give me some time alone with the eldunari, Nurin-Finiarel?"

"Yes, my Queen"

 _Queen Arya, this is Umaroth, Vrael's dragon. I'm glad you arrived. And with a new rider I heard. That is most good news in dark days like this._

Umaroth's big white eldunari was placed on a pedestal next to Cuaroc's throne.

 _I have come to get answers Umaroth-Elda. About what happens here on this island, about the fate of your mighty race, about Murtagh and Thorn, about Eragon..._

 _And I will answer all of them, though you might think that my answers fall short, I'm afraid I do not have all the knowledge you seek. It seems as much of the answers intertwine._

 _As your dragon, Fírnen-Pine-colored, probably has noticed, fourteen years ago something happened to our race. We all felt a warning rushing through us, though none of us could tell you what it was._

 _I do, you know I do, Umaroth-Elda._ Arya turned her head towards a medium sized orange eldunari, who had spoken.

 _It was my son who warned us Queen Arya, I told them. It was my son. He warned us all before he died._

 _She is one of the unfortunate dragons who still not has recovered from her captivity, Arya. Her son died during the fall, alongside with the other wild dragons. The shock that went through us warned us of a threat, and took away the desire to mate from the living dragons and made the dragons remain inside their eggs. Only two dragons have hatched ever since, and no new egg has been laid._

 _Lokini and Izar. It was Blagden, my raven who helped Izar, but what was it that helped Lokini out of his egg?_

 _It was us. With the number of eldunari we have, we were strong enough to contact Lokini over this distance. We felt that Ismira was right for him but that he didn't want to hatch. We convinced him otherwise._

 _But don't you think if something threatens your race, he should've remained inside his egg, just as the others?_

 _No, we knew that the threat was not physically attacking. There was no immediate threat and we trusted you to raise the dragon and rider in the right way._

 _Then why have you not done it more often?_

 _We can't. Something is blocking our power when we try to reach out too far. This concerns us just as much as the unwillingness to propagate our race. Because of this, we've no records of where Murtagh and Thorn are, nor do we know if they're being well._

 _I wonder how many dragons ignored the riders that the would've chosen otherwise._

 _As do we, Queen Arya._

 _I guess we should look for Murtagh and Thorn, they might have some information. But to do so, we need more riders. And most of all, we need a sane Eragon. What happened to him Umaroth-Elda?_

 _Eragon was deeply hurt after your last scrying session with him._ Arya looked to the ground at this statement. Umaroth paused a moment before he continued.

 _He wanted to return to you, but the prophecy laid on him by the Witch Angela held him back. So he sought an answers. First he lost himself desperately searching through scrolls and texts. Then he turned to us. We advised him that no prophecy is binding, for all beings make their own fate, but he didn't listen to our advice. He didn't want to risk the fate of Alagaësia for his own desires, though maybe he should have for his fate seems to be connected to that of Alagaësia._

 _But after we couldn't help him, he started talking to the eldunari that were twisted under Galbatorix' leash. He went too deep and he lost himself in there. The grief and pain he encountered in there was too much toppled with his own, and he collapsed under the weight. We've all experienced what it is too lose the partner-of-our-hearts-and-minds, and it seems that Eragon felt the same after losing you. He should not have gone in the minds of the insane eldunari. It was simply too much for one person to feel that much pain at once._

 _Thank you, Umaroth-Elda, and the others. I know what I have to do._

Arya excited the cave with tears streaming down her face. Nurin wisely kept his mouth shut when his queen returned.

* * *

 **Again not a lot of action. But i don't look at this as a filler chapter, i hope you don't either.**

 **We got to know what is going on with Eragon, we got some Herna, we got to know Ismira and how her time on the island was and we got some CRYING ARYA!**

 **Hope you guys liked it. What do you think of Díanel and Ismira? Do you want them to get together (again)? And how do you think of them as my new own characters? I hope you do like them as much as i do!**

 **Next chapter I'll reward you with an Eragon and Arya scene!**

 **Tomorrow is the King's birthday here in the Netherlands. So I'm getting wasted and probably won't upload till friday, which gives you lots of time to think about the new characters and leave some reviews for me to take in account!**

 **LukasAlbert, I might bring on Kundog next chapter too, especially for you. (I'm not sure yet)**

 **Cheers!**

 **Leonardo**


	9. The memories of wartime

**Hi!**

 **So I told you i was getting wasted right? Well I did. I had a great party in Amsterdam.**

 **This chapter gives some info about Kundog (for you Lukas!).**

 **The part of Kundog happens around the same time of the events of last chapter.** **(How did you like the different POV's? I've done it again this time, since Díanel is not at all the big events of course)**

 **I've done some research for this chapter, hope you guys notice and appreciate it!**

 **This chapter gives some more info about life on the island, but most of all...**

 **ERAGON AND ARYA GET OFF FACE TO FACE**

 **So I hope you enjoy it.**

* * *

Kundog walked out of the hut of the Urgal shaman, Nasrath. Together they had prayed to their gods and shared a meal. Even though Kundog was a fully grown Rider now, he still ate meat. His training as a rider made him resent killing animals just because he needed to eat them, but as he was an Urgal, he couldn't survive on plants and seeds alone. He once tried it but grew sick and was close to dying after two weeks. It took him months to recover. Now he ate meat once every three days, as it was enough to keep his body at its full strength. It was already late in the afternoon, but he needed to do one more thing before he would go back to the mountain platform and spend time with the other riders.

He looked up to the two mountain peaks and wondered how things were going up there. He had left after he had lunch with Arya-Elda and the new rider, Díanel. He hadn't seen Eragon or Herna after they had rushed inside the main hall. He wished Herna didn't follow their leader. She would do him no good and it was better if Eragon and Saphira would sort this out together. How kind Herna was, sometimes she seemed to pull Eragon in directions that she wanted him to go, and not always for the good, Kundog thought.

Kundog often disagreed with her ways, but she had Eragon's ear and there was nothing he could do. He talked about it with Nurin and later Ismira too, but they couldn't get to Eragon. The Eldunari didn't provide any answers either.

 _Do not worry green-skinned-warrior, Arya will help Eragon. I've seen her grown from a little elf into a Queen of the elves, she'll show the way._

Kundog was not surprised to hear Glaedr's voice. He often provided him with council about things regarding Eragon or the riders, and that was why he liked to keep Glaedr's golden eldunari with him. Eragon was getting tired of hearing the eldunari comment on his twisted thoughts, so he stopped carrying Glaedr, Umaroth and others that mingled with 'his business'. Kundog had three more eldunari, two were of wild dragons and the last one was of Arva's green dragon, named Armin.

Arva died during the attack of Galbatorix and the Forsworn on Illirea. During the last stand of the Riders Arva was mortally injured by Kialandí and his nameless purple dragon. Before he passed away, Arva gave his sword Támerlein to his sister, Naudra. When Arva died, Armin went into a mad rage and managed to kill one of the Forsworn and his dragon, before he was killed by Galbatorix and Shruikan themselves. After Naudra died the sword passed on to her mate, Fiolr, who in turn gave it to Arya after the Rider's war. Arya used it for a while and Rhunön fixed it to fit her better, but eventually Arya returned it to Fiolr and got her own sword from Rhunön.

After Eragon had left for the island, Arya often came to Rhunön to talk about the former riders. This talking made Rhunön realize that she missed living with dragons, and even dwarves. She had her fill of the courtesy of the elves and so she went to the dragon island. She took scrolls on how to forge dragon armor and decided that even though she promised to never make a sword again, she could still be of use to the riders. Arya decided to escort her, for she was one of the few who knew how to get there and then she could pick up some eldunari while she was there, to help her with her training.

When they arrived on the island, Eragon used the Name of Names, the true name of magic, to disregard Rhunön's oath, so that she could forge Rider weapons again. Arya and Eragon and the eldunari discussed the name of names often. Arya, Murtagh and Eragon were the only three people that knew the name and they were dragon riders too. It was unsafe for anyone to have that much power. Umaroth came with a solution, with the nearly five hundred eldunari that they had, they could use the raw energy that dragons sometimes could call upon, to make everybody forget the name of names. And so it happened. Though it was only known to the elder riders, where Kundog, Herna and Nurin know belonged to, what truly happened inside Galbatorix' throne room.

The eldunari of the wild dragons that Kundog was carrying, were usually silent. They enjoyed flying with Kundog and did not really care for thing that happened on the island. Armin on the other hand was not yet fully recovered from his captivity. Sometimes he would wake and send emotions and images of a blood-filled rage. One night Armin send memories of the battle of Illirea to Kundog and the other eldunari that were with them. Kundog thought of it as dreams, until next morning Glaedr told him that it took him hours to calm Armin down. Kundog was shocked by the intensity of the dreams, but on the other side he was thankful for the valuable lessons and his first real insight in dragon warfare.

This is when his interest in aerial battling was born, and he asked some of the other eldunari to help him master this part. He had spent countless hours battling wild dragons on Tian's back. Tian was as big and raw powered as many of the wild dragons and they made a great team. Some of the eldunari that were strong enough, shared their memories of the battle, that often ended in the dying of them and their riders. It was hard for them to share and hard for Kundog to relive those memories with them, but in the end it helped him to become a better rider.

At the moment, Kundog was heading to Rhunön to pick something up that would help him in his aerial battling. Tian had spent time with some wild dragons after she had dropped him in the village, but she was flying back to the village at the moment.

Glaedr had once explained to him that Tian was a wild dragon and not destined to be bound to a rider. But since Eragon had renewed the dragon-pact so that Urgals and Dwarves could become rider's too, they needed dragons that had enough growth potential to carry an urgal, even on younger age, especially if it would be a Kull. And as wild dragons were often bigger, though less sophisticated, they thought it would be a more fitting combination. Tian was a test subject in this matter. The eldunari had asked her if she would want to become a Rider's dragon and she replied that she was curious about the Urgal race, but would make no promises. And so when she arrived in Kundog's village, she had deemed him worthy and hatched for him, to everyone's surprise, including the eldunari.

One of the bigger wild dragons used to be her mate. He was one of the few that could hold her back when battling, so he deserved to be her mate. But for years they haven't mate each other, and the one egg they laid was still just an egg.

Kundog knocked on the door and Rhunön's apprentice opened. A dwarf from the Dûrgrimst Ingeitum clan and therefore a foster brother of Eragon stood in the hallway. He was related to Fûthark, the great craftsman and Grimstborith that taught Rhunön to craft swords. Futhorc, for so he was called, motioned Kundog to follow him into the smithy.

"Ah, there is the first flying Urgal. I expected you to be here sooner. But it matters not, follow me, I have what you came for in my courtyard." Rhunön walked outside to where the smelter and a big pile of coal where. In the middle of the courtyard was a table of twenty feet long. On top of it was something covered by clothes.

"The brightsteel you brought to me was just enough for what you wanted, but I want to ask you to bring me more, since it seems like I have another weapon to make for this new rider. Silver, that's a color I haven't made in a very long time. But we'll talk about that later. First your weapon.

I've taken a look at the logs you used to practice with, the measurements of Tian and the few designs I still had from other riders that chose this weapon. You know it is unusual for a rider to come to me and not want a sword. I can't make bows from brightsteel and riders on dragon back often left the offensive to the dragons and used the swords to defend. It won't be easy, but I guess you are capable enough to use this weapon."

Rhunön pulled the clothes away and revealed a fifteen feet long lance. Its tip was a pinkish white, like the scales on Tian's belly, but from there on the color grew more intense until it was a bright purple. It was beautiful and terrifying at the same time.

Kundog knew one eldunari who's rider had a lance instead of a sword and often discussed the practical matters with him. He never favored a sword and always used a battle-axe. Rhunön insisted on not making axes for the riders, since she never mastered this and thought it a worthless weapon for a rider. She was right, an axe would do nothing in aerial battle and so he needed another weapon. He often thought about it, and now, twenty years after becoming a rider, he finally got his weapon. Now, he and Tian would be truly undefeatable in aerial battling.

"The lance will cut through any ward, and it will never break. As a bonus, whenever you drop it, it will return to your hand if you ask so. No one except a rider can lift this weapon. In the middle of the lance runs a strip of onyx, a pommel on the end, like with a riders sword, did not fit right with the aerodynamics, which are the best feature of this weapon. Make sure to fill the onyx with as much energy as you can miss. You never know when you'll need it."

"Thank you Rhunön-Elda. I promise it I will use it to honor your craftsmanship. Thank you again."Kundog's face was filled with joy and his yellow eyes sparkled. He knew Rhunön didn't care for courtesy but he still made a clumsy bow. He didn't think he could ever thank her enough.

"Now, all that is left is to find a suitable name for it."

Kundog hadn't thought of this yet. He thought about the weapon as he lifted it. It was heavy, but not a problem for his strong Urgal arms. He imagined how it would cleave the wind, before it would struck the enemy. About how it drifted on the flows in the sky, and suddenly he knew it. He would name it Fethrhaina, the harmful feather.

"A strong name, Kundog. Make sure to honor it. Now go and show it to the others on the mountains."

After Kundog thanked her and Futhorc again, he left and climbed on Tian. He often made lances out of wood to practice with and so he knew perfectly how to handle the weapon. Though it would be no use in hand to hand combat, but he still had his battle-axe. Tian shared his enthusiasm and send him feelings of might and power. Tian did not often converse in words, not that she couldn't, but she thought of words limiting her raw emotions and Kundog agreed.

They flew towards the platform, ready to impress the others with their newly received Fethrhaina.

«»

Díanel looked around his new room. It was mostly build like the rider's houses in Ellesméra. There was a big window that served as an entrance for the dragons and could be closed by a membrane. Next to the large bed was a hole in the floor where Izar could nest herself in. There was a fire place with next to it a rocking chair. On the walls were some images of dragons, chiseled in the stone by the dwarves.

"Through that door is a study, though you should get your books and scrolls from the library. And there is a bathing room through that door. If I'm not mistaken, Kundog has asked in the village to bring some clothes to you."

Díanel turned to Ismira. "Thank you. I'm sure it will feel like home in just a few days. Where is your room?"

"The door right across the hallway. The level below us is occupied by Kundog and Arya will reside there as well. Herna's room is on the lowest level, partly underneath the platform."

 _Riders, meet me at the platform in two minutes._

Díanel was surprised and angry that he let his guard down to a strangers mind so easily. It appeared that Ismira got the message too.

"Who was that?"

"Kundog, it must be important. Come quickly."

Díanel followed Ismira outside, in the meantime he contacted Izar to come too, but she and Lokini were already on their way.

Once they got outside, Arya and Nurin were already there, along with their dragons, so were Saphira and Harnon. Eragon and Herna came out of a small door of the main hall and Arya looked at them with a pained look, or so it seemed to Díanel. Arya quickly turned her head to the east and a few moments later Díanel heard the thundering of big wings coming from there.

He turned his head too and cursed hemself for leaving his weapon in his room, as all the others moved their hands towards their Rider's swords.

As the thundering grew louder they could suddenly see the big purple form of Tian rapidly gaining altitude along the mountainside. It did not take long before she flew above the platform. Díanel noticed a big purple lance in Kundog's hands as he flew over cheering.

Then suddenly, Nurin sprinted towards Hismal, climbed upon her and took off. He flew above the platform and summoned orbs of golden fire, each one smaller than the one before, until the smallest one was as big as a potato. Kundog had probably contacted him to ask him to do this.

It now occurred to everyone what Kundog was about to do, and Ismira shouted some encouragement to him. Kundog and Tian build up speed by circling high above the orbs and then suddenly Tian dropped and went for the first orb. Kundog leaned slightly to his right, pinned the lance underneath his elbow and aimed. A straight hit and the orb shattered in thousand little sparks that rained down. Díanel and Ismira cheered, as did Nurin.

He continued to the other orbs and he didn't miss a single one of them. He cheered loudly after he ripped the smallest orb apart and his cheers were joined by the other riders and dragons.

Díanel and the other riders ran forward as Tian landed in the middle of the platform and asked Kundog about his new weapon. Only Eragon remained on the side. Kundog was very excited to answer the questions as he had told no one of his plans to get a lance. He promised that they all could train with it if they so desired.

«»

Arya had heard of riders that used a lance, but never further explored the idea so she was curious to ask Kundog more about how this weapon will work and how he would transport it outside of battle, or deal with enemies once on the ground.

But before she could ask, she noticed Eragon walking into the main hall. After she talked with the eldunari, she knew she had to act. It was her duty as second oldest rider on the island, as Queen of the elves, and as a friend to Eragon.  
She gathered all her courage and told the remaining riders that she would want to share dinner in the main hall together in two hours, so that they could get re-acquainted with each other after all those years. She then walked to Saphira and with every step she felt her courage sink.

Once she was in front of the first dragoness, she bowed her head, falling back to elven formalities as she was unsure what else to do.

 _Arya._ This was all that Saphira said as she gazed down at her. Arya felt herself shrink under the mighty dragons composure.

 _Saphira. I know not what you think of me and if you think I should apologize, but I won't. I know I've caused Eragon pain. And I guess you suffered with him, but I am here now to relieve him of that pain. That is what matters. Let the past be the past for now. Please, tell me where Eragon went and let me help us all._

Saphira remained silent for a moment, before she touched Arya's head with her snout and mentally send images of were Eragon went.

 _Thank you Saphira._ Arya told her before she ran off and left the other riders with faces filled with astonishment.

She followed Saphira's instructions and halted before Eragon's personal study. It was next to his personal chambers, at the end of the library on the second floor.

 _You can do this little one, I'm with you. He is a fool to have ignored you for so long. But treat careful with his feelings, he's deeply hurt, but so are you, do not fall to the stupid formalities of your people, Arya. Give voice to your heart and you will help both him and yourself._

 _Thank you Fírnen. How could I ever do this without you?_

 _You couldn't. That's why you always shielded your heart before I hatched._ Arya heard a small ruffling sound in her head.

 _Not the time for jokes Fírnen! But you are right, I was too afraid to love again after Fäolin. But I've realized my mistake in the long years apart. But before I open my heart, Eragon will have to answers for the neglecting of his duty._

 _We've all made mistakes Arya, that will be resolved in time. For now we should learn to work as a team once more, just as you've told the other riders._

 _I know Fírnen. Thanks once more for being with me. Here we go._

She knocked on the door and was surprised that Eragon called for her at almost the same time. Saphira must have informed him.

"Hi, Arya. Please come in." Eragon spoke calmly, the anger from their last meeting was subdued.

Arya took the surroundings to her. Eragon was sitting behind his big desk. Behind him was a big round window that looked over the big lake outside. She could see some of the smaller islands and saw two wild dragons flying over. In the middle of the window was a blue glass with the yäwe symbol in it. The same symbol as Aren, the ring on his finger was encrypted with, he was given this ring by Brom and her mother had let him keep it, for he was a friend of the elves too.

On one side of the study was a big bookcase that covered the whole wall, though it was mostly empty. She guessed that Eragon wouldn't want to get pieces from the library which would make them unavailable to the others. On the shelves were some eldunari and other artifacts, such as Eragon's dwarven clan helmet and a piece of shell from Saphira's egg.

On the other wall were some fairths, of Carvahall, and she guessed of what would be Garrow standing in front of his old farm. Of a young Saphira. Of Roran and his family, including a baby Ismira. Of Murtagh and Thorn. And of her. She was shocked by the fairth.

It was almost an exact copy of the one he had once made during Oromis' lessons on the Crags of Tel'Naeir. It didn't show her as she saw herself in the mirror. She was much warmer on the fairth, her cheeks were more accentuated and her lips fuller. It was the way Eragon saw her back then. And apparently still did.

"Brings back memories, doesn't it?" Eragon smiled as he saw her looking at that fairth. Arya examined him. He didn't look a bit like the Eragon she saw a couple hours earlier. His ponytail was proper and his face was free of despair. Though his beard was still messy and his eyes stood tired with a skin pale. But somehow the smile gave him a confident appearance, a familiar appearance..

"Yes it does. It was a hard time and full of danger. But at least we had purpose back then." She replied to him, with a poor imitation of his confident smile.

They both regarded each other in silence for a minute. Before Eragon spoke again.

"Aye, we did. And I guess we still do, but I've lost mine somewhere along the way." Arya was surprised that Eragon opened up so quickly and was so mature to admit his own flaws straight away.

"Eragon, I have not come in here to blame you. Not for anything. I think there are greater issues than the struggles of.. two old friends." Arya hesitated. She was not ready to talk about their feelings. Suddenly she felt insecure. Ever since Fäolin died, she neglected her heart and did everything she did because duty asked her too. And now she got the chance to let her heart speak, she once again retreated into duty.

"But Arya, why do you think there is a threat? We have had two dragons hatching in the last three years. Alagaësia is at peace and there are no hostile activities anywhere." Eragon sounded convicted as if he truly had no idea of what was going on, to Arya's anger.

"Do you not listen to Saphira anymore? To the eldunari, Glaedr, Umaroth? They have helped Lokini hatch and Blagden helped Izar. There are no new eggs being laid, there are not even dragons who want to mate, the young ones don't want to hatch and fourteen years ago all dragons felt something shift in their core, a warning Eragon! Open your eyes, please." Her anger turned into disbelief and even despair. After talking with Umaroth the threat felt all the realer and here was the First Rider, the leader of the new order, telling her that there was no threat.

"Then Arya tell me, why did you never contact me if you think of this threat so real and big? After that last time you never ever sought me out." Eragon's confidence broke and his face once again showed grief and a hint of despair.

Arya was dumbstruck by this question. She, the queen of the elves, who was tortured by Durza, was there when Galbatorix blew himself up, rider of a mighty dragon, lost her composure in front of the only man who could get her this upset. She placed both her hands on the desk in front of him and spit all her anger in his face: "You better listen to me now Eragon Shadeslayer. Brom might have been you father, Oromis might have been your teacher, you might have killed Galbatorix and Durza, but you are still the fool if you think I never contacted you. How often did I not scry you, only to be scoffed away by that arrogant dwarven girl with her plump nose, every time.."

"Wait, what?" Eragon interrupted her. "You scryed me and Herna answered?"

"Yes that's what I'm saying." Arya replied dryly, still filled with rage. Even though they both wanted to fix things instead of fighting again, their emotions got the better of them. Emotions that were hold back for too long and smoldered inside, but they were now fueled and burst into a blaze.

"She never told me."

Eragon leant back in his chair and went with his hands through his hair.

"How could she do that? She was my very first apprentice. Why would she do that?" He almost shouted the last question. His face full of despair now as he looked up at Arya.

"I don't know Eragon. You need to talk to her.

We need to talk to her." She corrected herself.

Seeing the defeated face of her longtime friend with who she had shared so many memories, both good and bad, her anger subdued like snow in the first sun rays of spring. Suddenly she knew she needed to encourage him, to help him, for the sake of them both. She walked around the desk and turned his head to her by softly putting a hand on his cheek.

"You are deserving of the titles you carry, though you should not carry the weight of the world by yourself." She gazed into his eyes, seeing a flicker of the old Eragon behind all the sadness and defeat. The flicker was still full of life and laughter, though it was imprisoned by the pain and despair.

"And Eragon, you are no fool." And she kissed him on his forehead.

* * *

 **Let me know what you think of this emotional ending!**


	10. The scars of two decades past

With a determined stride Arya walked next to Eragon, who tried to copy her determination as he looked at her on his left. As they entered the dining hall, they saw Kundog exuberantly discussing how his lance would serve him in battle with Nurin and Díanel. Herna and Ismira were sitting on the other side of the table and were just discussing the childhood of Eragon.

At the side of the hall were the dragons curled up in a magnificent assembly of colors. Only Izar and Lokini were full of energy and wrestling each other. Saphira was lying next to Fírnen and they both stared at the door, even before Eragon and Arya entered.

As they did so, all heads turned towards them. Kundog went to speak, but once he saw the looks on their faces he quickly decided not to. Ismira's cheeks got a slight blush on them, embarrassed that she talked about his private life. Eragon didn't seem to notice and cleared his voice: "Herna, would you please follow us."

"And for you," he said as he let his eyes move away from Herna to the others, "please enjoy your dinner without us. This might take a while."

Herna stood up with a frown on her face and walked towards where Eragon and Arya were waiting. Leaving the others behind in confusion.

Eragon turned to walk towards his chambers again, when he remembered something "Meet me at dawn tomorrow at the platform. The second stage of your training will then begin," he said facing Díanel.

The walk was spend in an awkward silence, and Eragon loathed what he had to do. What Herna forced him to do. He still couldn't wrap his head around it. But he was done feeling sad and miserable. Arya was right, it was time to handle things. Herna was the first to experience his regained purpose.

When they entered his study, he went to stand behind his desk, with Arya next to him. Herna stood in front of them. She looked uncomfortable and didn't know where to look, her eyes shifting from Arya to Eragon and eventually resting on a spot on the ground in front of her. He recalled the times that she came here in his study to comfort him, she always knew what to do and what to say, she was his beacon in a stormy tide, but this time, she seemed like she was the one drowning, and depending on her answers, he might or might not save her.

"Why have you summoned me, Ebrithil?" Herna asked Eragon and this time her blue eyes were focused upon his.

"I think you know why, Herna. Why have you never told me that Arya scryed me?" Eragon's eyes stood unrelenting.

"I-, You told me you never wanted to talk to her again. I just did as you asked Eragon. She arrived just a few hours ago and already she caused lots of trouble. That's why she should never have come. We could have escorted Díanel and continue with our lives. We had it good Eragon, there was no need to listen to those in Alagaësia who just want your attention because you are the Head Dragon Rider, Eragon. We don't need them." Herna took a step towards the desk as she spoke. Her eyes showed a conviction that made Eragon doubt again.

"You are a Rider. How could you ever think that you should not listen to the Alagaesians, the sole purpose of our existence is to help them!" Arya replied with a look in her eyes that would have made everyone but a rider flinch.

Eragon looked to his right and he knew that Arya was right. Had he not sworn himself to defend Alagaësia, both before and after the war with Galbatorix.

"Herna, Queen Arya is right. Even though I might have strayed of the path, you should have informed me of whoever wanted to scry me. Your words reveal that is was not just Arya." Eragon said with a stern voice.

"I did it for you, Eragon. You needed the peace here on this island. Your whole life has been built on war and heartbreaks. You deserve to rest and be happy! We deserve to be happy!" Herna got tears in her eyes, but Eragon remained rigorous.

"Herna, instead of helping me, you've done the opposite. Only my family, the people I love, can help me get the peace I seek, the peace within myself."

"But I love you too Eragon!" Herna shouted, tears streaming down her face.

Eragon didn't know what to say. Never before had somebody told him that he loved him. He knew the love of a brother, a father too, but never had a female loved him. He had only ever loved one person in a romantic matter, the elf with the scent of crushed pine needles, that was standing next to him. But not Herna. He had first viewed her as his apprentice, and he recalled how happy he was to train her and Harnon, the first set of junior Riders. After they had spent every day together for years he started seeing her as a sister, someone who was always there for him. Yes, he did love her, but as he loved Nasuada or maybe even Roran.

"Am I not your family then Eragon? Am I not the one who cared for you when all the people who claimed to love you, ignored you?" Herna's tears formed a sad pattern on the floor.

He sat down. The air heavy with silence. A dragon's roar sounded loud over the water.

Before he could speak, Arya walked around the desk. And to his surprise, she put a hand on Herna's shoulder.

"Herna-Finiarel, I understand what you did, why you did it, I truly do. But it is not right to claim Eragon for yourself. The order of riders is built to serve Alagaësia. Never forget that. We should always put the fate of Alagaësia over our own desires, even though it hurts." Arya spoke with her musical voice, though the tones were sad and sounded of the same feeling of loss, but mostly, her voice carried a rhythm of understanding.

Eragon was astonished by the scene unfolding in front of him. The Arya in front of him was so different than the Arya he had last spoken to twenty years ago. He could only think of that she was more humane. She truly understood Herna and despite the loathing of Herna she just an hour ago, she was strong enough to overcome that in an open display of her emotions. Eragon silently thought that Arya was more like the Arya he always wanted her to be.  
The scene was even stranger for it involved a woman who apparently loved him and the woman he still loved. The woman who eased his pain and the woman who caused it.

During all the time he spend with the eldunari, he never once learned how to cope with situations like this.

"Herna…" He started, not sure what he wanted to say. "You are my family. I did not wish to indicate otherwise. And I deeply appreciate for what you have done for me, I even love you for it." Herna glanced up, eyes still wet, "as family," Eragon added.

"But Arya is right. Whatever we do on this island, it should never be a reason to neglect our duty to protect Alagaësia. I failed in this, we all did. But for now, we must focus on whatever keeps the unhatched dragons in their eggs. Sometimes duty comes, Herna. But I'm sure that in time, you will find the love you seek." Eragon ended in a kind matter.

He felt sorry for Herna. He knew how it was to be disregarded by the one you love, as Arya had turned him away so many times before. It now occurred to him that is was nothing easier to be the one to break a heart.

Herna nodded as a child who received a lecture from her the meeting, all three ate separate and retreated in their own chambers.

Eragon curled up next to Saphira.

 _You did as you should've. Herna meant no harm but she wronged us all anyway._

 _Do you think I should've punished her? I can take her senior rider status from her…_

 _I think you should talk more about what she feels Eragon. It may never again cloud her judgement, for it could be dangerous too all._

 _I do not think I am the right person to talk with her._

 _Maybe you are right._

A silence fell between them as they both recalled the events of the day, the most eventful one they had in over a decade and a half.

 _It's good to see you take back to the role of the First Rider, Eragon. I missed you like this, though I know I was not the mighty dragoness either._

 _I missed this too Saphira. I feel like I've opened my eyes again. We will fix everything._

 _We will, Shadeslayer._

They shared their love for each other through their connection until Eragon fell into his waking dreams and Saphira made soft snoring noises.

«»

 _I pity her._ Arya told her dragon.

 _I do not think we've heard the whole story so far. It makes sense that she did it out of love for Eragon, but why turn away from Alagaësia?_

 _I don't know, I will ask Nurin more about her past._

 _You should, little-one. But for now, rest yourself with knowing that you already accomplished a lot on our first day here. Tomorrow Saphira and I are going to visit some wild dragons, she has a surprise for me._

Arya smiled as the thought about how Fírnen was just as upset and mad as she was when Eragon and Saphira didn't seek contact anymore. But now it seemed that the emotional connection between Fírnen and Saphira was of more practical nature than that of her and Eragon.

 _I was mostly angry because Eragon-with-pony-tail had hurt you and Saphira didn't tell him of the errors in his way. But now Saphira-Brightcolored and I are fine again._

 _So what am I to think of this?_

 _You know I have no desire to mate ever since that warning rushed through me, nor does Saphira or any other dragon._

 _I know, unfortunately._

And just as Eragon and Saphira, they too fell asleep curled up next to each other.

«»

On the lowest level of the residence hall, partly build underneath the platform, lay Herna crying in her bed.

Harnon gently padded her with his snout.

 _It's alright, heartstone. Eragon forgave you. As he should, you only ever did what you deemed right._

 _Then why does he not love me back?!_

 _Ask yourself Herna, do you truly love Eragon? Would you want him as a mate? Or is this just the closest you ever got to loving someone?_

 _I don't know Harnon. All I want is to feel loved. We were happy here, but it is all gone now that Arya arrived._

 _I love you, never forget that. You are born out of the hardest stone, no Knurla could've endured what you have. If I ever get the chance I will kill those traitors in Galfni for what they have done to you._ Harnon was suddenly filled with bloodlust, as he gently put his snout on her womb, where the scars still burned.

They too, fell into sleep eventually, although it was a troubled and restless one, filled with memories of knifes and blood.

* * *

 **This was most of the drama part.**

 **Let me know what you think of how i handled it. Does it make sense to you all?**

 **Next chapter we'll get some character building on most of them as the story moves on towards a more steady pace and we'll get more discoveries on the big bad...**


	11. A lesson for the master

**Great to see that more and more readers are finding my story. We got some new reviewers too! Thank you all for that. Know that I deeply appreciate it and it encourages me to keep delivering to you.**

 **So without any further ado, here's the new (action filled) chapter.**

 **Enjoy!**

* * *

 _Come on, we can't be late Díanel. We need to hurry._

 _Relax Izar, we have at least fifteen more minutes before the sun rises._

 _But it are Saphira and Eragon! Maybe they will learn us how to slay a shade or fight an army of thousands._ Izar growled to imaginary opponents. _Come on now Díanel, we have to go._ She nudged Díanel with her head and almost pushed him from the bench, as he was just finishing his fruit and nut-filled yoghurt.

 _Alright, alright, let me clean this up and then we'll go._

 _Make sure to hurry stargazer!_

Díanel smiled at the energy and joy coming from Izar. He wished he could share her optimism, but after he had seen Eragon and talked with Ismira, his expectations had grown low about his new trainer.

Last night during dinner, they mostly remained silent. Kundog tried to lighten the mood, but everybody was wondering what was occurring in Eragon's study. Harnon left the great hall a minute after his rider went with Eragon and Arya, and Saphira and Firnen didn't want to give any insight on the matter. At one point Saphira even snarled at Nurin that it was none of his business, thereafter the atmosphere grew even more tensed, until Kundog mentioned it would be better if everybody went to bed. Díanel had tried to talk to Ismira as they walked to their rooms but she replied he should get some rest for his first day of training would be intense.

Díanel couldn't imagine how training could be more intense than his first day on the island, which could be described as a whirlwind of emotions and tension. Seeing Ismira again, disappointment by Eragon's appearance, a flicker of the loving Ismira he knew, getting to know Nurin and Kundog, and eventually the weird dinner where Herna was summoned away. He couldn't really sleep that night as he was unsure what to think of it all, and Izar was mostly impatient to begin the training with Saphira.

 _I think I hear Saphira coming._ Izar disrupted his chain of thoughts and he looked up to the main hall. He didn't hear anything, but trusted Izar's senses. A few seconds later, indeed the door opened and Eragon came walking through, with Saphira following.

Díanel noticed the change in Eragon. His beard was fully gone, leaving a clean shaven face with a strong jawline. His brown eyes reflected purpose and the red circles underneath them were gone. His ponytail was tight and clean. Though his form was still thin, he now walked straight and determined again. He was wearing black boots, grey pants and a blue shirt, made by elves by the looks of it. At his hip hung his famous sword, Brisingr.

Saphira towered above him, being almost three times Izar's size. He regarded Saphira with a feeling of awe once more. She was truly the mightiest of all creatures he had ever seen. He bowed his head to their new teachers, as did Izar. This was the first time she ever bowed to someone and through their connection he felt that she was even more impressed by Saphira.

"Díanel, Izar, welcome to the island of Dragon Riders, Gjarzla Hjarta. As you know, I am Eragon, Shade- and Kingslayer, Bane of the Ra'zac, liberator of Alagaësia and the First Rider of the new Order of Dragons, but most of all, I am the rider of my mighty dragoness, Saphira." Eragon addressed them, saying the last line with pride in his voice.

 _Welcome young ones. It is an honor to receive new riders here._ Saphira mentally communicated.

"Neither of the things I've accomplished could be done without the help of Saphira and my friends, as I hope you've heard. I am merely stating the names I carry, so that you know what I'm capable of. What you have seen yesterday was me as I've been too long. Queen Arya helped me open my eyes, and for that I am her forever thankful. I hereby want to offer my apologies to you both, for you had no part in all this, but still I failed to welcome you proper. I want to make up to you, and therefore I shall start with training you today." Eragon didn't sound cocky or arrogant, he was just stating facts. Though it was surely confidence that carried his voice. But there too was a sincere apology.

Díanel didn't know much about how Eragon had been in the last twenty years, but he could sense no hint of insanity. In front of him now was the Eragon as he expected him to be, a confident and strong leader of the Dragon Riders.

"We accept your apologies. We are honored that you and Saphira Bjartskular yourselves will train us."

 _Ebrithil,_ added Izar.

"For today, I wish no further to discuss the matter. Today will be all about your training. Now if you would please follow me, Díanel, and Izar, you are to go with Saphira."

Eragon and Saphira didn't wait for a reply, but simultaneously moved. Eragon ran towards the path that ran down the mountain and Saphira jumped up to fly towards the peak of the mountain.

 _Remember to share our trainings, have fun twinkle-star._

 _You too, stargazer._ Izar replied before she flew after Saphira.

Eragon and Díanel ran for over an hour, until they were deep in the forest that covered the east-side of the mountain. Díanel had trouble keeping up with Eragon's pace, and he was glad when they finally stopped. He bend over, clasping his knees with his hands and gasped for air. Even though Eragon was clearly out of shape, he barely broke a sweat.

Eragon must have noticed his envious look for he said; "Have you heard of the gift the dragons bestowed upon me during the Agaethi Blodhren?" Díanel only nodded, he had not yet enough air to reply. "Good, then it must encourage you to know that eventually all riders go through that transformation, and end up with enhanced physical and mental skills eventually. Though it will take decades for you to develop into what I received in one night. Always perform at the best of your abilities and don't be discouraged by the fact that the other riders and most elves may best you. They all had years of training."

"Yes, Ebrithil."

Eragon smiled. "Now let us have some water."

After they rested in silence next to a creek for a while and appreciated the sunrays breaking through the ceiling of leaves, Eragon asked about his progress in the Rimgar. And as he was still in the second stage, they decided to perform this one.

When they finished, Eragon told Díanel that they both should look for food. Díanel returned with blue berries, bird eggs and some big yellow fruits he had never seen before.

"Ah, I see you have a fine taste. They are sweet and juicy, an excellent choice as dessert."  
They ate what Díanel and Eragon brought. Díanel used this moment to check on Izar. She said that they were flying towards the mountains surrounding the lake, where Saphira would show her some bigger animals and how to hunt them.

"We should bring these fruits to Alagaësia." Eragon said in an attempt to make some small talk.

"I'm sure my mom would know how to make a great pie of it." Díanel replied smiling.

"Aye, your mom… you are Baldor's son, am I right?"

"Yes and my mother is from Surda." Díanel replied with a mouthful of the juicy fruit.

"I used to play with your father when we were young. We are almost of the same age. How is he doing?" Eragon sincere.

"He's doing great. Albreich and he took over the smith after grandfather died and they are considered some of the best in all of Alagaësia, that's why we were tasked with forging Fírnen's new armor."

"Horst was some of the best men I knew." Eragon's face showed a flicker of grief, before he continued: "I would like to know more of your time in Ellesméra, mostly about the hatching of Izar and the subsequent training."

Díanel told Eragon of how he got to Ellesméra, how Fírnen appreciated the armor. Of Blagden's riddle, Izar's hatching and the subsequent training. Eragon listened with interest and sometimes asked questions.

When Díanel finished, Eragon asked him about his magic abilities, since he had not mentioned them at all. So Díanel started telling of the lessons he received during the travel to this island. Eragon wanted to see for himself, but only after Díanel had told him everything about Carvahall.

Eragon asked question after question, mostly about Roran, Baldor and Albreich and the other villagers. Sometimes he asked about more political stuff and the growth of the different races in the village. He ended with a question about Murtagh, but Díanel could not provide a sufficient answer.

Díanel started to like Eragon, despite all the prejudices he had prior to his training today, Eragon seemed sincere when he showed interest in Carvahall, especially Roran. They did not yet talk about Alagaësia, but Eragon would probably discuss those matters with Arya anyway.

As the sun was high upon the blue sky, Eragon gave different magical tasks to Díanel to perform. He succeeded in some of them, but failed in the more advanced ones, he knew how to form the right spells, but lacked the magical strength to perform them. Eragon however, stated he was very pleased with his prowess so far.

«»

Arya made her way through the woods, the tall trees and the many flowers reminded her of Ellesméra. With every step she sunk a bit into the moss that covered the ground, as if she walked on soft pillows. She had taken her boots off like she always did at home when she had time off duty. Frankly enough, she did not miss home at all. It was nice to be away from the politics and stiffness of the elves. It was reassuring to know that someone as capable of lord Dathedr took over her duties, she was sure he would do great, maybe even better than she herself could.

The sound of a flute was carried towards her by a calming breeze. The sounds were easy to hear with her elven senses. As she came closer to the source of the music, she could distinguish some homes build up in the trees. It was clearly the work of elves, though it was different than the treehomes in Ellesméra, those were usually on the ground, but these houses were more like tree huts.

Nurin was playing a flute in the middle of a clearing, next to him was Hismal enjoying the sunrays on her golden body. She did not move when Arya went to sit next to Nurin.

Nurin finished his song while Arya thought of that morning, she had gone to the training grounds after she had eaten breakfast. She had not practiced with a sword since she left Ellesméra. She had sparred with Díanel during the travels, but he was no match for her, so it could not be called practicing.

On the training grounds she watched Herna winning over Nurin. She had watched the battle unfold and was surprised at the outcome. Nurin was a very skilled fighter even among the elves, but Herna had fought with such determination and aggression that she simply overpowered Nurin. She was very witting by turning her height to her advantage by stabbing Nurin in his foot with her dagger, with she had quickly drawn with her second hand. According to the elven rules it was prohibited to use a second weapon, but the ways of training grounds on this island were focused on survival and winning, instead of gallery battling.

When Herna left the grounds she nodded to Arya as she passed her. Arya complimented her and sparred with one of the elves who were attending.

Fírnen had afterwards flown her to some pools on one of the mountain peaks, were she bathed and relaxed with her dragon. Then Fírnen went away with Saphira and Izar and Arya went to find Nurin.

"Arya-Elda, welcome to my favorite spot on the island. This is where I find my peace when I'm alone with Hismal." Arya noticed that Nurin did not perform the elven formal greeting, for he knew the Queen's distaste to such formalities.

"I can see why, Nurin-Finiarel. I had my own place of solitude in Ellesméra, as you might remember. It is always good for one to have a place to retreat too, a place of their own." Arya looked around once more. The clearing was indeed a sight to behold. There was a very small creek streaming through the middle of it, there was a tree trunk next to it, on which Arya and Nurin were both sitting. The clearing was large enough to house two dragons, or three smaller ones and the opening in the ceiling of leaves was large enough to let the sun through for most of the day. It was a true place of solitude.

"I would love to come here again and listen to your music, but for now I would wish to hear everything you know about Herna."

It was clear to see that Nurin struggled for he thought of Herna as a fellow-rider and a friend, but it was his queen and elder rider who asked him. He did not know what was discussed yesterday in Eragon's study, but he recalled the worries he, Kundog and Ismira so often shared and concluded that to resolve the ongoing issues, Arya needed to know as much as she could get her hands on.

"When I arrived Herna had been here for six years, as you know, and Kundog for five and a few months. Even though the different races we all had, Herna and Kundog were most welcoming. Eragon was already isolating himself with the Eldunarí. Though he was not nearly at his worst back then. Kundog and I got along like brothers, he is always trying to comfort everyone and is really the one who kept us all together even though the hardness with Eragon. Herna was more like a mother, she cares a lot for us all, but her ways are a bit.. " Nurin searched for the right word.

 _Demanding._ Hismal helped her rider out and Arya looked upon the golden dragon, noticing how much she looked like her sire Glaedr.

"Yes demanding, thank you Hismal, she means the best for all of us. But she is so protective that she almost loathes anyone from outside who could disturb the way of life here, even though we have so many problems. She demands all of our energy focusing inward on this island, instead of outward to Alagaësia where our duty lies.

The further Eragon slipped away, the more rigid Herna became, eventually we started to openly disagree with her ways. But at that point we were too late. Herna was the only one that talked with Eragon and all we could do was keep improving ourselves as riders, for when we're needed."

"What do you know of her background?" Arya asked with a cloud of concern covering her face.

"Not much, I know all about Eragon's, Kundog's, Ismira's and even yours, but Herna never wanted to talk about hers. All I know is that she is from Galfni and she is around fifty years old. Harnon is a very powerful dragon and I think he is great for Herna, though he is just as protective as she is and sometimes he can be very aggressive when something is threatening Herna. Whatever it is we don't know about her, she must have her reasons for keeping it a secret."

Arya and Nurin remained sitting on the tree stump, until Fírnen suddenly demanded Arya's attention.

«»

While Díanel was telling Eragon about Carvahall, Izar was following Saphira.

 _One day I'm going to be as majestic as Saphira-Mother-Dragon._ Izar thought as she was following Saphira from the hills over the lake. The sun broke into thousands of little blue diamonds on Saphira's scales. Every movement of her wing was enrobed in grace.

 _No, I'm going to be even prettier, for I have the color of the brightest of the stars._

 _Hello, Saphira-Bjartskular, Izar Twinkle-star._ Izar had not noticed Fírnen joining them.

 _Fírnen-Elda. I did not know you were to train me too._

 _I'm not. We're flying to the wild dragons where Saphira will show me something before you continue your training._

 _Saphira-Elda, how many wild dragons are there?_ Izar asked her mentor.

 _Seventeen, unlike the bound-dragons none have hatched in the last fourteen years._

 _Do they all live here?_

 _At the moment they do, sometimes they travel south when it gets colder in the winter. Currently they are all living either on the mountain peaks of Gjarzla Hjarta or on the islands in the lake._

The three dragons, blue, green and silver, were sailing through the skies. Izar enjoyed flying with her two teachers. She needed more wing claps to keep up with them, but still it was a relaxing pace, with the sun shining upon them and a slight breeze keeping them cool.

They landed upon a small island. There was one big rock with a cave in it, nearly big enough to house Saphira. The rest of the island was covered with grass and some trees. Out of the cave came a dragon, scales the green color of the sea of the west, or at least Izar thought so for she had seen it only through Díanel's memories.

 _Fírnen, meet your sister, Sagara. She hatched fifteen years ago, and therefore is the second youngest of the wild dragons._ Saphira spoke to all four dragons.

 _Thank you Saphira-Bjartskular. I did not know I had any nestlings, I have been without the company of my kin for too long.  
Sagara-Daughter-of-my-Dam with the scent of seaweed and the spikes the same shade as mine, it is pleasuring to know I do have kin in this world. _

_Brother, I have travelled wide and far in my young years and hunted great prey, but never have I been so warmed at heart. I would want to tell you all I know about our sire and dam._

 _Izar, it's time to continue your training._ With that, Saphira took off. Izar followed, leaving Fírnen and Sagara behind.

Saphira told Izar more about the wild dragons, she told of their leader Kharahaan, who resided on the biggest island, second to Gjarzla Hjarta and had already mated with multiple dragons, resulting in four eggs, of which one hatched for a male dragon. They flew around the lake and Saphira showed some different daring flying maneuvers.

Izar immediately noticed that Saphira was way more agile than Fírnen was, and it was obvious that even though Fírnen was a great teacher, he still had a lot to learn himself before he could fly like Saphira could. Izar felt a rush of revelation for noting the importance of living with other dragons and she understood Eragon's words when he said that Fírnen deserved to be on this island.

Her thoughts were abruptly disturbed by a roar that carried over the lake. It was Fírnen's for sure. Saphira turned around and hurried herself towards the island where they had left Fírnen. Izar had trouble keeping up with her pace. During their flight more and more roars carried over the water. Some of Fírnen, some of a rawer voice.

It didn't take long before she could see around a dozen dragons gathered on and around the island where Fírnen was. Saphira didn't slow down until she was just a few yards away from them and let out a mighty roar. Some dragons turned around and made way for her, others remained where they were and returned their gaze to something that Izar couldn't see.

Izar followed Saphira through the dragons, while she passed them she got the feeling she was being measured by the wild dragons. She was intimidated by the size and amount of the dragons. She had never been around wild dragons before and it was clear to see why they were called wild. They were rougher and had no respect for anyone who had not proven himself yet. She kept her head high, determined to appear calm and assured, even though she was far from it.

She could now see where everyone was looking at, Fírnen was fighting a rust colored dragon. The dragon was almost two times the size of Fírnen, bigger than Saphira, even bigger than Tial, it was by far the biggest dragon Izar had ever seen. His legs were thick, like his neck. His wings were relatively short, and his tail was disproportionately long. He had four spikes on his cheeks, again more than Izar had ever seen before. Like Tial, he had two horns growing above his ears. He was bleeding from a big bite mark at the base of his neck, and a spike at the end of his spine was broken off.

Fírnen was not looking better, for he had a big cut in his side which was very deep and blood streamed down with disturbing amounts.

 _Kharahaan, what is this madness?!_ Saphira demanded from the rust colored dragon, the king of the wild dragons.

 _This bounded dragon thinks he's more worthy than I, the king of dragons, to mate you, Saphira-Bjartskular._ At this, Saphira let out a stream of blue fire over Kharahaan.

 _As you know, youngling, I have tested Fírnen and deemed him worthy of mating me. Don't ever think you have a say in that._

 _He was the only male dragon available back then._ Kharahaan puffed out smoke from his nostrils. Saphira got even angrier and frontal tackled Kharahaan, they circled to the island and Saphira landed on top of Kharahaan, smashing his back against a rock and clipped his head down by biting his upper neck.

 _Never doubt my judgement. You might be bigger, but you are as tainted as the color of your scales. You might be king of wild dragons, but I'm the mother of our race. I am the first and will be the last. Without me, there would be no you. I defeated the oath-breaker and his mad dragon. I battled Thorn and won over him. Be wary, for I could dethrone you, Kharahaan. Now lick your wounds and be gone._

Saphira got off Kharahaan, the defeat in his eyes obvious. Saphira had given him the worst insult, mocking his color, hitting him straight into his pride, in front of so many other dragons. Kharahaan got up and flew away.

 _This isn't over._ He hissed to Fírnen as he passed him.

Fírnen replied by spitting out the top of the spike he had broken off Kharahaan's spine, which he still had in his mouth.

The other dragons left too and Izar and Fírnen landed next to Saphira. Off the wild dragons only Sagara remained.

After a while Hismal came flying from Gjarla Hjarta, carrying Nurin and Arya. Arya was worried to her core as she felt the pain of Fírnen. She healed him before he could lose any more blood. But it would take a few days for him to fully recover.

"Saphira what happened?" Arya looked at Saphira with an intense gaze. Her face betraying anger, worry and confusion.

It was Sagara who answered.

 _Rider-of-my-brother, you share his smell. I'm pleasured to meet you. I'm Sagara, sister to Fírnen. We talked about our elders when suddenly Kharahaan-King-Leader and some other wild dragons-brothers-and-sisters came. They told Fírnen that he was unworthy of mating Saphira, that he was a coward for not living with other dragons-brothers-and-sisters. Fírnen tried to convince them of his duty as a bound-to-rider-dragon. But Kharahaan was only after a duel to prove himself. For Fírnen is the only dragon who Saphira-mother deemed worthy, so by defeating him, Kharahaan would gain great honor. Fírnen did not want to duel, but when Kharahaan attacked, he had no choice. He fought with pride, but was no match for the strength of Kharahaan. It was good Saphira interrupted the fight when she did, for Kharahaan would not stop when Fírnen was injured, forcing Fírnen to use lethal methods too. Resulting in two wounds on Kharahaan._

 _Did you hear that, pine-crusher, I fought with honor._ Arya gave a small smile at Fírnen's comment.

 _I'm glad you did not lose your sense of humor, but you should be more careful Fírnen._

* * *

 **How did you like this? I myself are happy I brought in Kharahaan, I love that name, and it is nice to think of a character for a wild dragon. And I found the speech by Saphira pretty badass, _I was the first and will be the last_. Damn.**

 **I'm going to reduce my uploads to 2 chapters a week, for I'm getting very busy with my internship. Hope you guys keep up with me.**

 **Let me know your thoughts on the story development.**


	12. The rebirth of the riders

**Hi guys, it has been a while.**

 **And i'm sorry for that, but it won't be any different in the coming weeks. Life catches up with me, sooner than the words flow out of my fingertips.**

 **It is always great to see new reviewers finding me. Thanks guys and welcome to my story.**

 **Hope you enjoy this chapter as always, we'll get some new (old) characters again!**

* * *

Tian was zigzagging her way through the self-build obstacles, while Kundog was hitting all the targets with his lance. Lokini was following Tian with a far greater agility, but stayed behind her.

 _Pats!_

Ismira startled as a twig was slammed upon the table in front of her. "Ismira, if you rather want to play tag instead of learning to become an ambassador, please go and stop wasting my time here."

One last time Ismira looked out of the window with disappointment covering her face, before she turned to master Minka. "I'm sorry Minka-Elda. I will pay attention to your lessons." Ismira shut the shutters so that the distracting and appealing sight was blocked. Minka was a dwarven priestess who came to study at Gjarzla Hjarta. As she was the oldest and wisest dwarf on the island Ismira had asked her to teach her in the dwarven culture about two years ago. She was a good teacher, though sometimes she could be inpatient and a bit rough in her ways.

"So as I was saying, Rimmar has been a reader-of-law for a hundred years and is the head of law. Being a law-servant places you above all clans, only following the king's or the council's commands. Rimmar is also the one who laid the sentence over Vermûnd and-"

Ismira's mind ventured to Díanel. She remembered the first time she laid eyes upon him, exactly ten years ago. She was only thirteen years old back then, Díanel twelve. Carvahall was just rebuild and was still small and there were only a few children. She always got along with Hope, they had been best friends since their births. Because of Hope being Díanel's aunt, even though they were just a year apart, she was waiting for his family's arrival with the rest of her family. Ismira had joined them. It was at the end of spring that Díanel arrived with his parents and an apprentice from their smith in Surda. They had been on the road for months, and Díanel looked weary and grumpy. Ismira was curious about his olive skin and dark long hair, that was not yet in a warrior's cut back then. He ran towards his grandmother, Elain, but soon retreated to his hut afterwards. She had barely seen him in the months after that. Hope told her that Díanel was angry at his parents for moving to Carvahall and to be forced to leave all his friends behind in Surda.

During the winter of that year, Ismira went to the smithy of Baldor and Albreich to pick up something for her father. When she arrived in the smithy, only Díanel was there, working on a knife. He gave her the tools for Roran and as he did so, she noticed his silver eyes for the first time. She had asked him if he missed his old home. He nodded and held her gaze, without saying anything. Ismira felt uncomfortable, but her curious nature got the best of her and she had asked him how Surda was and if he had lived in a castle, like she did in Carvahall. He started to open up, Ismira clearly found his passion, and he told about the many adventures he experienced in the household of his grandfather and later uncle. About his best friend, the son of the horse master. They both laughed so hard they couldn't breathe when Díanel told how he and his friend got attacked by a cock. Díanel even got a little scar of the chicken attack on his shoulder. After the laughing subdued, Ismira said, with the empathy and honesty of a child, that they could be friends too.

For a moment, Díanel hesitated, before he said that he would like to be friends. Hope never wanted to play with Díanel because he was a boy. However, Ismira was curious about this new olive-skin colored boy in town and they got along greatly ever since that day in the smithy.

 _Pats!_

"I understand that you have a lot to think about since the arrival of the Queen and the new rider. And the gods knows what's going on between all of you argetlams, but I won't teach you like this. Come find me again when you've regained your interest." Minka turned around and left the room.

Ismira sighed. It was true, this was the second day since Díanel and Queen Arya arrived, and she couldn't concentrate on anything else since. There was the tension between Arya, Herna and Eragon that kept her busy. But that was nothing compared to what Díanel stirred within her. She loathed the way they parted, the way _she_ parted. They had gotten together in a romantic way when she was nineteen. When Díanel finally revealed his feelings for her. But ten months later Lokini hatched and she was forced to leave him behind. In the beginning it had caused her great pain, but after a while it was numbed by the concerns she had for her uncle. It faded like an old wound. But now Díanel was here again she felt as if her heart was torn between regret and happiness. She had no idea how he felt however, since it had been three years. There were so many great girls in Carvahall, and Díanel was always a favorable guy, due to his foreign olive skin and his mysterious eyes. And he always had been a little flirty when he grew older. He probably just saw her as an old childhood friend.

She opened the shutters again and watched Lokini. Her beautiful dragon. How he was both a blessing and a curse at the same time. She loved him, and would never stop doing so. But sometimes she missed her old easy life, where she had purpose. She was going to be a politician, like her father. He always asked for her advice and the people in Carvahall respected her. Now she was on the island, training to be something that she would never become, not if she would stay on this island like the other riders. Every day was so expandable here, nothing exiting ever happened. But the ever staying tension on this island had made everyone numb, almost insensible.

"Hi Ismira- " She turned around to see Díanel standing in the doorway. His hands uncomfortable on top of each other, then he placed one on his other elbow, and eventually he just put them behind his back. Clearly he didn't know where to put them. "Eragon-Elda asked you to join him in his study."

"Oh? Why's that?"

"I don't know. But he said you should tie your hair in a neat way." Díanel gave a small chuckle because Ismira's hair was always neat. It was a very silly joke. Ismira thought while she returned a smile.

"Guess we shouldn't keep my uncle waiting."

Díanel frowned. "I'm not coming with you. I'm going to read Eragon's diary he kept when he was building this island."

"Alright." She looked down. Suddenly she remembered something. "How was your training?" Ismira asked.

The sincere interest and warmth in her voice melted the awkwardness in the room. "It was great!" Díanel exclaimed. "It was tough, but Eragon is a great teacher. Not like Arya. She is great too. But Eragon is different. And he seemed to have changed so much since yesterday. He seemed truly interested in me and devoted to my training."

Ismira smiled again, this time a big sincere one, reflecting the joy she felt for Díanel. It was funny how he could be triggered by just asking about something that excited him. Like that day in the smithy ten years ago. He could be so secluded, but ask him about something and he rattles off. The excitement he radiated got the better of her.

"I would wish to hear more of it. Maybe if we find the time tonight?" She felt blood rise to her head as she realized what she just had said. Sometimes words just flapped out of her mouth. With cheeks as red as apples, she stared at her feet, in shame waiting for a reply.

"I cannot think of a better company to spend my evening with." Díanel replied with a genuine smile. He looked straight at her, a bit longer than necessary, before he left the room.

«»

"Ah Ismira, there you are, come have a seat please." Eragon looked at his niece. It was the first time he actually noticed how much she had matured during her time here. She was a woman now. Katrina would be so proud of her. In fact, she reminded him of her mother. He thought with a nostalgic feeling rushing through him. Though she was still a bit insecure about her own skills, Ismira was not that naive anymore. She was humble, but always knew the right thing to do, just like her father.

"You might wonder why I summoned you, but before we go there, I want to tell you that I'm proud of the rider you've become. I'm proud to be your family. And I know that I've let you down, as I've let everyone down. You have suffered because of me and I want to make up for that. Starting now." He didn't wait for a reply, but pointed at a big mirror on his desk.

"I think we have some catching up to do with your parents." Eragon said with an inviting smile.

Ismira's jaw dropped. "Uncle, are you fooling me?"

Eragon shook his head with a smile on his face.

"This is- Thank you uncle." She went to take a seat next to Eragon in front of the mirror.

Eragon spoke the words and the surface of the mirror started to wrinkle until it showed Roran.

"Dad!" Ismira shouted out of joy.

Roran turned around in surprise, and searched for the source of the sound.

"Ismira, is that you? Oh my girl, how I've missed you. How are you? Ah, you look so much like your mother. Brother… it's good to see you." Roran's face was filled with joy when he saw Ismira, but it slightly tempered upon seeing Eragon. "After all those years." He added in an almost accusing tone.

The expression didn't go unnoticed by Eragon. Though he did not expect Roran to be all too pleased to see him, the accusation in his eyes still hurt him.

"I'm sorry Roran. I truly am. In time I will try to explain it. But please brother, let us not spoil this little reunion with talk of past mistakes. Not now." Eragon's eyes filled with sincere sorrow. But he did not want to discuss his mistakes again and again. At this moment, he just wanted to hear about his brother's life.

"Alright Eragon. Let me get Katrina."

When he returned with Katrina, she started crying at the sight of her daughter and Ismira joined in her tears. Eragon was first joyed by seeing this expression of love. Then he felt a bit uncomfortable and eventually he felt ashamed as it struck him he was the reason Ismira didn't have contact with her parents for so long.

After the initial surprise faded, Katrina asked about how Ismira was doing. How her dragon was and if she got along with the other riders, ending with asking about how it was that Díanel was now on the island. Ismira replied, focusing on Lokini and how she got along with the others. She purposely did not say anything negative at all. Then Ismira asked about little Garrow, her brother, and Hope.

After the ladies were done catching up for the initial part, Eragon asked if he could speak with Roran alone.

Ismira and Katrina said each other goodbye, promising to talk again soon. Now that they've talked once, there was nothing stopping them from doing so another time.

Once they left, Eragon and Roran measured each other for a minute in silence. Eragon was sort of afraid of what to say next but eagerness to make amends got the better of him. "I'm sorry brother. I have lost my head many years ago, not just my head, my heart too."

"Arya?" Roran's face stood dead serious.

"Yes." Eragon sighed. "Initially it was her who caused me to slip and I was too weak to regain myself. Though she is not to blame for anything."

"She is with you on the island now, isn't she? How's that going?"

"She's the one who opened my eyes Roran. At first I was heartbroken at the sight of her, but she tore apart all the walls I build around myself. You know Roran, once I was happy on this island. It is beautiful, I had the elves with me and together we created something magnificent. Then the wild dragons hatched, Arya visited and Rhunön came, Harnon hatched for Herna and they joined us along with some dwarves, Kundog and the Urgals came after that. Everything was great and going as I imagined. But I always missed something. _Someone_. Arya.

When we parted after the war, she told me that in time we could be together if my feelings proved to be true, and not just born in the excitement of battles. I had done my waiting Roran. I waited for three years, is that not prove enough?!" Eragon's eyes filled with tears the more he continued to recall his darkest period.

"I told her of my feelings for her during one of our scrying sessions. Then she said that my feelings for her were both distracting us of our duties." Eragon paused.

"What duties Roran? Tell me? I raised the new riders and the dragon race was being restored." Eragon his voice was just a whisper, sound blocked by sadness and despair.

"You had a duty to us brother, to Alagaësia." Roran seemed to regret to be the one who had to say this, when his brother was so clearly hurt.

Eragon's eyes lighted up at this. A sparkle of his old insanity came to him.

"How is that? I scryed with all the leaders, I provided you all with council, only to be told that Alagaësia was free of threats. Only to be told that my feelings distracted me from my duties. How could my duty be to Alagaësia if I can never set foot there ever again?!" Eragon shouted the last question, the true source of his madness now clear to Roran. Eragon was disabled. He could help Alagaësia by council, but not by action. He was as an eldunarí, existing but not really participating. He could not help them.

"There is always a way brother." Roran remained calm.

The last words remained thick in the air as silence grew on them. Eventually Eragon regained himself and asked about Carvahall, about the politics and the growth of the village.

They talked for hours about everything that Roran was responsible for, how Carvahall would become an interracial city, the main city of the North. They too discussed matters that concerned all of Alagaësia. Until Katrina summoned Roran for dinner.

Eragon was getting quite hungry himself, but he had one more thing to do before he would eat.

Again he said the words of power to scry someone.

"Barzûl! Eragon! My brother. Hvedra, get me some ale! We have to celebrate. Barzûl. I cannot believe my own eyes. Hvedra, where stays the ale?!"

Eragon smiled at the sight of Orik, King Orik, his foster brother. He was as unchanging as a stone, both in appearance and behavior.

"It's good to see you again Orik."

"Aye, and if it is. You are the most pleasant sight I've seen in years. Apart from Hvedra and Isidar Mithrin that is of course. Ah thanks for the ale my love. How fare's life for you Eragon?"

"To be honest, better than I've been since I defeated Galbatorix. I have a proposal for you."

«»

 _Fírnen, are you-_

Arya's thoughts strayed as she let her finger run along Fírnen's wound. She had healed it as best she could, but the wound had been too broad and some of his scales were cut off, leaving a trail of white scar tissue on his side.

 _I'm fine, Arya. Make sure to make a fairth of me on my good side though._

 _Stop joking for a moment Fírnen!_ Arya's concern let no room for his silly optimistic jokes.  
 _That's not what I wanted to ask. When we first came here, Eragon told me that it was unfair towards you to keep and train you in Ellesméra, that you deserved to be here. And I noticed that the other dragons fly better than you do. Answer me honest: Are you weaker than the other dragons who were raised together?_

 _I don't know Arya. He, Karhahaan surprised me. At first I could held him off, by using my agility and my smaller body to my advantage, that's how I hit his throat, but after that, he simply overpowered me. If Saphira hadn't interrupted-…_

Arya could feel the shame and the pain it caused Fírnen to admit this. He had always been so proud. The elves in Ellesméra had always admired him. But he was usually the only dragon there. He had never been with a dragon for longer than a few months, let alone a dragon of his own age and size.

 _It's alright partner-of-my-mind-and-heart. It's all alright. Remember that we are together. That is when we are at our strongest. But I promise you I will never have you at a disadvantage again. If you will grow more powerful by training with other dragons, we'll stay here._

The fire that she so often had felt in Fírnen when she was at a low moment, was now burning in her. She was determined to let Fírnen regain his honor and pride as a dragon. Too long was he the one healing her wounds, when Arya was doubting over what she felt and what she needed to do. He had encouraged her to go to the island to fix things. Now she would encourage him to do the right thing.

«»

As Arya walked in, Eragon was just placing his mirror back on the shelf. She frowned, but did not question him about this.

"Eragon, what did you mean with that Fírnen deserved to be on the island when we arrived yesterday?" Eragon looked surprised at this question and the haste with which she got into his study, not even saying hello. He wondered if he had done something to upset her, but nothing came to mind, well at least, nothing new.

"I meant that in order for him to become a true dragon, he needs to live with his kin. Just as you could not be raised by humans to become an elf. You might remember how much Saphira grew during her training with Glaedr. I'm sorry to say this Arya, and I'm not yet sure of it, but it won't surprise me if Fírnen is weaker than almost any other dragon on this island."

"I heard what happened with Fírnen and Karhahaan. I will go talk to him. He will have to answer for this act. Though I believe Saphira already put him back in place." Eragon said with a forced smile. It was hard for him to point Arya at her shortcomings, especially when it was about Fírnen, her most valued ally and friend.

But where he expected Arya to be hurt, or maybe even to appear shamed and guilty, she looked fiery.

"Don't talk with Karhahaan, he just did as his instincts tell him. Fírnen should have been prepared for that.  
Eragon, I hereby ask you to train both Fírnen and me in the way of the Riders. I might have been your teacher once, but I promise you I will obey your every command as the First Rider, as long as it does not interfere with my position as Queen of the elves.I promised Fírnen that he would never be at a disadvantage because of me again, please help me with that." Arya said without blinking. "Eragon-Elda." She added.

"It will be an honor to train you both, Arya. But I will ask you a favor in return." Eragon replied with a slight blow of his head.

"Of course." Arya replied careful.

"I've scryed with Roran and Orik this afternoon. Only Nasuada is left, I would ask you to join me when we scry her. To be honest, I'm done explaining myself. I know I've made mistakes, but the focus should be on the future now."

"I agree Eragon. We will focus on the future."

«»

"Dragons and Dragon riders, it lifts heart to see you all gathered together." Eragon was standing in front of the table in the meeting room. All the riders were sitting on the chairs, only Eragon was standing. Arya was sitting at his left side. The back of the room was opened, so that the dragons could put their heads through, and thus attend the meeting.

"You've all already met Díanel, our newest, who impressed me with his cunning mind." Eragon nodded at Díanel, who returned the favor.

"And Izar, the starlight-Dragon, as agile and quick as a falling star. Be welcome in our midst." Eragon declared with open arms.

 _You honor me Ebrithil_. Izar replied to all attending.

"We have made many mistakes in the past years, decades even. But we will not look back anymore. We will all start anew." Eragon looked at Herna for a moment before he continued.

"We all know that we are not the Riders that Alagaësia expects us to be, what we expected us to be. _What we should be_. But from this day on, we will become that. May this day be remembered as the true rebirth of the order of the Riders. Many of you have already mastered so many skills, and it is time that we show Alagaësia what the mighty dragons and their mysterious Riders are capable of.

Arya and Fírnen will remain with us for the time being, so that they too would become more than a dragon and a rider, they would become part of the legacies of old, but more than they already are, they would become modern-day heroes. As will we all!

I've contacted the leaders in Alagaësia and to rebuild the trust that we have lost, we will send ambassadors to them. Herna and Harnon would be the first. They would return to the mountains of their birth. The Beors. Herna being the first apprentice will lead this mission and she would be accompanied by Ismira and Lokini. Ismira, on this journey, I expect from you to learn as much about the dwarven culture as you can. Upon your return you will be apprentice no longer and your training would be completed." Eragon noticed Ismira's face brighten and she looked at Díanel, who smiled at her. Eragon moved his eyes towards Herna, whose face was unreadable.

"Herna, I expect of you to look after Ismira and Likoni, as much as after yourself and Harnon. King Orik will have a waiting party readied for you at the Edda river to escort you to Trondjheim." He waited for a moment.

"Of course, you will not go without a mission. The reason to why the first ambassador party is traveling towards the Beors is threefold. Among all the races,the dwarves are the least fond of dragons and Riders. Too many dwarves have been killed by dragons, and of course there was King Hrothgar's death at the forced hands of Murtagh." It took Eragon effort to say this. Deep inside, Eragon knew all too that it was not on Galbatorix' order that Murtagh murdered king Hrothgar. He did out of himself to please Galbatorix, in a desperate way to lighten his own suffering. Eragon understood Murtagh's motives, but it was still hard to recall those events.

"To build a trusting relation with the dwarves, we need to show them what we are and what we stand for. Herna as the first and only dwarven rider will convince them of our righteousness as will Ismira, as our most engaging ambassador."

Herna had showed a flicker of pain at the name of Hrothgar, but after that her face went blank again.

"The second reason is one of even greater importance. At the western outskirts of the Beors, close to the re-inhabited city of Orthiad, there have been minor skirmishes between dwarves and nobles from Surda. I do not know the full story of it yet. But Orik told me that the dwarves were having Feldûnost there and some Surdan lords have always been using those lands to breed their horses. When some of the horses died the lords blamed the dwarves, who say to have no part in it. The lords wanted compensation, and when they didn't get it, they stole Feldûnost to sell them. I think this is a great chance for you to prove your diplomatic skills. You will have to investigate the situation and work out a solution without any further incidents.

And that brings me to the last reason. As you all know, there are no dragons hatching." Eragon saw the surprise on some of their faces.

"What about Izar and Lokini, Master?" Kundog asked.

"Yes, good question. In the last fourteen years, only two dragons were born, Lokini and Izar. Lokini was helped by some _other_ dragons that convinced him to hatch while he was in Teirm. And Izar got convinced by Blagden, the raven of Arya."

"How could the other dragons help Lokini when he was in Teirm and they were all here?" Díanel asked with confusion on his face. Ismira displayed the same confusion but the other riders seemed to understand.

"You will learn in time, Díanel. When your training comes at that point, you will know. As will you Ismira." They were clearly not satisfied with this answer. Especially not Díanel, who just started with his training. But he kept his mouth shut and leaned back in his chair.

"We don't know why they needed that encouragement to hatch. Nobody knows, not even the dragons. All we know is that the dragons felt something rushing through them fourteen years ago, and that ever since no dragons have mated, and no eggs, except those two, have hatched. This concerns me, Arya and the dragons. As the dwarves were the original inhabitants of Alagaësia, along with the dragons, I want you to go through their oldest scrolls and tell me everything that could be related, even for the slightest bit." Eragon turned around as if the meeting was closed, but then he remembered something else.

"Oh, and while you're there, please ask around for a herbalist woman named Angela, she might go by a different name though, but she always travels with a large cat.  
Herna I've got a mission statement written for you. I expect you to leave in three days. That must give you enough time to return before the winter reaches his cold heights."

* * *

 **Hope this makes up for the waiting.**

 **We got Roran, Katrina and Orik! I love Orik.**

 **I've skipped the conversation with Nasuada because it would be the same all over again. We've had enough of Eragon's apologies, it is time to move the story on.  
The reason he didn't contact Nar Garzhvog and Orrin is simple, Garzhvog is not as involved in Alagaësian matters and not as close to Eragon as the others are. Surda is an independent state, but Orrin swore fealty to Nasuada, therefore he will get informed through her messengers.**

 **We will get a time skip coming up soon, for I think we've had enough time to get to know our new characters.**

 **There are a lot of people asking for Murtagh, well, he would be announced in 2-3 chapters. And the 'legacy' left behind by Kialandí, will soon be revealed as well (5-8 chapters).**

 **Keep on posting those questions and remarks that you have. I will answer them as good as I can.**

 **Thanks for reading and make sure to drop a review!**


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